Dual Reawakening
by Manny Siliezar
Summary: Waking up from what could only be described as a fatal accident was terrifying and confusing. Waking up in a forest with nothing but the clothing on my body was even more so, realizing that I was looking at my body from another perspective was truly the final straw that broke the camel's back. SI/OC.
1. Dual Deaths

**AN: Hello, Thank-you for giving Dual Reawakening an opportunity! I hope you enjoy it. A few disclaimers. One being, I don't own anything like the FE Series, or it's characters. I do own mine though. Which leads to my next disclaimer. This is a SI/OC story. Or more accurately OC Isekai. I hope that doesn't deter you from liking it. In regards to my editing. I put lots of time into it. I absolutely detest simple writing mistakes. That being said, I'm human and only one at that. I'll definitely miss some. Some that are perhaps painfully obvious even. It's tough to edit one's own work. You tend to miss more than if you were editing someone else's work.**

 **Pairings are unknown. Other than SumiaxChrom. What can I say, I'm a sucker for canon(or perceived canon in this case). Don't bother telling me I'm trash due to it, my friends already got that front covered.**

 **On another note, I've been writing for a few years, but never truly excelled at it. This is an opportunity for me to improve, this is my intention with writing Dual Reawakening. So, citicism is welcomed.**

 **Also, I haven't played a FE game since SoV came out. A week after it did to be precise. My information may just be wrong, I'll fix that as I go along. Will be playing FE:A again just to freshen my memory.**

* * *

The sound of shuffling bodies and rising murmurs slowly woke me from my nap. Groggily opening my eyes and rubbing the sleep from them brought me back to the world of reality. I was in class, napping in it, to be precise.

My head swayed from side to side, observing the classroom, rows of tables and swivel chairs. With plenty of students doing their very best to escape via one of the two doors in the room.

"Don't forget the assignment, it's due today at midnight, no late admissions," the professor said, probably out of obligation more than actual concern, if the montone in his voice was anything to go by.

It didn't help that he looked extremely tired, physically and mentally. I sympathized with him, if only for the fact I didn't get a wick of sleep myself. Stretching the stiffness out of my joints, I quickly grabbed my bag and made my way out of the classroom.

The halls were crowded with colourful people and vibrant personalities. In comparison, I'd probably be a gray. It was true what people said about university. You meet all sorts of individuals there.

I nimbly made my way through the waves of people and left by the nearest exit. The first thing I noticed was the chilled weather, my face was pricked by the winter bite. I fetched my scarf from my bag and commenced to wrap it around my neck, hesitating only to watch my frosted breath escape my mouth and dissipate into nothingness after a lingering second.

I huddled among fellow students as we waited for the public buses to arrive. With very little to do in the meantime, I let my mind wander. I had the assignment due, haven't started though. That was probably going to take up the rest of my day.

I had groceries to do too, and I was almost completely certain I had to call the landlord about the leaking vent. Less I allowed it to continue leaking. The bus arrived shortly after, stealing me from my thoughts.

I flashed my bus pass, and sat at the nearest available seat. The bus felt musty, as the air was thick, and generally off putting. But looking at things optimistically, meant I only had to endure the gross air for 7 stops.

7 stops later, I was quickly left at the side of the road. It's funny how the absence of something makes one crave for it more. The air was especially crisp and refreshing, and a pleasant change to the odd smell in the bus.

It did wonders in waking me up completely, yawning was nothing more than a distant memory. The bus left me a few blocks from my house. But that was due mostly to my laziness as I didn't bother transferring buses. The additional minutes walking was a fine substitute, especially with how fresh the air felt.

It also acted as a nice break, before hunkering down and devoting my afternoon, evening and night to that 15% assignment.

With that in mind, I decided to enjoy the remainder of my walk, observing the different houses and cars lined up in their respective parking lots. It wasn't long before my sight seeing focused on a few kids, boldly walking in the middle of the road.

It reminded me of my youth, and the bittersweet memories it entailed. Before even realizing it, my face was etched into a sadden smile, one where my eyes didn't reach. I shrugged the feeling aside and purposely ignored the children.

They're bickering was the only noise in the otherwise quiet neighbourhood. And despite their arguing, undertones of happiness and youthful eagerness were in abundance. It ached my heart, painfully endearing, painfully similar.

I shook my head and hastened my pace, what a horrible time to start feeling this way. I had an assignment to work on, the last thing I needed was to recall my past. And as melodramatic as it sounded, it seriously, was not the time to be thinking about it.

My attention was snapped to the road, as a car hastily rounded the corner. The sound of tires screeching against the asphalt startled me into freezing in place. The smell of rubber would quickly follow. I was appalled at such blatantly reckless driving. It was incredibly dang-

The kids! I snapped my head back to the children, who seemed just as petrified as I was. The car shredded down the road with ignorance of those present on it. I was relieved as I watched the kids scurry towards the sidewalk.

Only for said relief to quickly shift into unabated horror. One of those kids was still glued to the road, frozen like some statue. His eyes were like saucers, and he quivered in fear. Why he seemed so frightened was hardly something I felt compelled on questioning.

What I did feel like questioning was why in the hell was the car still driving at 50 plus kilometers an hour! The kid was in the middle of the damn road!

I made a quick split second decision, dropping my bag and dashing towards the child. Stupid in hindsight, I know, but the scene was just so very painfully familiar.

I just couldn't watch something happen, and think back on it with 'what ifs' and 'if onlys'. My heart was beating hard and fast, as if it was trying to burst from my chest. I covered the short distance with a pace even I could be proud of. Despite that, the car was seconds from impact.

I lunged forward, fully extending my body as I placed my hands on the child's waist and shoulder. With my momentum I propelled him to the side. I didn't see if he landed safely, I for one, didn't even see how I landed at all.

* * *

"Robin! Robin are you still with us!?" A masculine voice shouted over the whipping winds.

Said masculine voice stood over a woman in a coat, his cape flapping against the gales. A shield covered his face, allowing at the very least for his azure coloured hair to remain decent.

Granted given the situation, decent hair was perhaps the last of the person's worries. After all, he was on top of a dragon, fighting to the death against a god, with the very fate of the world hanging in the balance.

Not to mention his future daughters, as well as his friends, and their future children were assisting with defeating said god dragon. In all actuality, he probably held his shield up to prevent any arrow fire from attacking him or his defenseless partner. Beside him, a small petite blonde girl in what could only be described as a battle skirt was hunched over the fallen woman, with a long metallic staff in hand.

"Lissa, How is she?" The man asked.

The girl, Lissa scrunched her face into deep concentration as she channeled mana into her staff. Slowly the fallen woman was enveloped in a faded greenish light. It outlined her features, but glowed brightly where any wounds and blood stains were present.

The woman shuffled uncomfortably, a hot pain pulsing from her side. Her face winced, before slowly softening as a new sensation poured into her body and cleansed her from her agony.

"Chrom, she should be better now," Lissa responded after a momentary dizzy spell.

"Thank you," Chrom responded, before turning to the woman, "You better not think of sleeping on the job again,"

The woman snapped upright, ignoring the stiffness in her muscles and turned to face the blue haired royal.

"That was an unforeseeable accident. It could have been anyone!" She shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her comrade and friend.

"You seem better now, Robin."

"I… uh, what happened?"

The response was delayed as Chrom quickly turned to parry an attack from would be assailants. Grimleal serving the dragon god Grima. He deflected a strike before hastily dispatching the closest enemy, then using his momentum he lunged into the second's guard, startling the hero. He bashed the Fire Emblem against his opponent's head, disorientating them before slashing diagonally against their person.

The third took the opportunity to attack the distracted Chrom only to be singed by magical flames.

"Thanks,"

"What's the status?" Robin asked, closing her tome as she made her way to stand by the Exalt.

"Naga just finished telling us of Grima's endless supply of reinforcements," Chrom explained, turning in time to block an incoming attack. "You were then hit by a general's spear, I couldn't reach you in time. I'm sor-"

"Please Chrom, don't worry. When this is over, I'll make sure to give you flak for not covering me," the tactician interrupted, channeling mana into her Arcfire tome, and hastily burning away her friend's opponent.

"So, how is the backline faring?" She asked.

"Protected, but Naga's warning should be heeded, we won't last long like this."

Robin's brows furrowed as she scanned the scene. If it were any other situation, the setting would have surely left her starstruck. The dimming sun painted the sky in an orange hue. The clouds had dark purple outlines and the night sky shone brightly with scattering stars as a backdrop.

However, what she saw before her was more than a pretty sky, on top of the dragon's scales, was an abundance of Grimleal soldiers, elite fighters trained by Plegia's best, and most likely by the Deadlords themselves.

Robin's strategy was fairly simple. The backline consisted of range attackers who would dish out strong magical spells, with a few of the sturdier shepherds to soak up enemy assaults, in other words protect and peel for her spell casters. The vanguard consisted of an elite team of shepherds. With the intention of spearing through the enemies and attack Grima directly, at the head of the dragon.

An overly ambitious gambit done in desperate measures. The most effective way to deal with the enemy was to blitz them. Especially with the looming threat of countless enemies appearing overtop the sigils established all over the dragon's body.

The vanguard continued their push, slicing through the enemy with ruthless efficiency. Any injuries were quickly healed up by Libra and Lissa. Although incredibly draining and tiring, the group of shepherds did manage to push all the way towards the end, Where Grima stood surrounded by a line of generals and berserkers.

"To think you'd oppose me even now. I'm appalled," Grima said, her voice distorted with demonic undertones.

"Silence Grima, this ends now!" Chrom shouted.

"That, is something I can agree with Nagaborn."

In that very moment, before anything could be processed further, the dragon's long arching neck swerved up, twisting to face it's own back. With unnatural poise, the head leaned forward before shrieking loudly enough to rupture eardrums.

Robin clenched the side of her head, ignoring the warm wetness the touch brought. It seemed she wasn't the only one feeling disorientated, Chrom looked equally parts confused and dizzy.

Only Lucina's muffled shouts snapped their attention forward. Although the bark was devastatingly painful, the bite looked to be far more so. Black vorpal spikes emerged from the dragon's scales at a rapid pace. The trail of spikes led towards the pair. Given how Chrom was forward between the two, it meant he would take the full brunt of the attack.

Losing their Exalt, father and friend would have be devastating, morally crippling and would completely shift the momentum of the battle. Robin thought herself a decent chess player, even if Virion always had the upper hand. It usually was due to her unwillingness to trade pieces.

Now, however, she thought it an acceptable time to do so. Anything to prevent checkmate.

* * *

After what happened, waking up was certainly not what I expected to happen next. The impact was chilling, instant but agonizing all the same. No matter how I looked at things. I should have been dead. Yet, what I saw before me was certainly not what I'd assume purgatory, heaven or the afterlife to look like.

In fact, it was just a bunch of trees, with sunlight peeking through the treetops, sprinkling down it's warmth.

Which raised all sorts of alarm bells because I recalled it being quite cool, and certainly winter, if not, fall at the very least. Also, I was in the city, where trees were scarce, and the buildings in abundance. It was painfully clear I was in a forest of some sorts.

I started to instinctively scan my surroundings. Actually, it was followed by an odd feeling. My body moved almost on its own. My head turned from side to side, then, a hand went up to sides, feeling my ribs before making it's way down to my waist. It felt like I was being controlled. Which brought a sickening feeling to my stomach. Maybe I was dead, and this was some twisted form of dealing with sinners?

Granted, I haven't sinned in a while, let alone do anything that would render such abstract torture. But at the same time, my body felt different, as if something was flowing through my veins beyond the simple blood and plasma. It felt heavy, yet made my body feel light. It was a foreign feeling that put me on edge.

My body started to spin on its heels, as if surveying the area in significant depth. A hand went to my chin, which was far smaller than it had any right being. After a few more minutes, my body finally stopped at something, or more precisely someone. Laying on the grass floor, was an unconscious boy, dark brown hair, wearing jeans and a winter jac-

Holy shit, that was me! That was my body, what the hell was my body doing there?

 _Peculiar, where did he appear from?_

What was that? Who said that? Why did it sound like a woman? I thought I could retain a semblance of sanity, but it seemed that was long since abandoned.

 _Plegian? No, too thick, perhaps Feroxi then._

Wow wait, I was not fat, thank-you very much, and besides it was the jacket, the jacket made me look bigger than I really was. On another note, what were those things she said? Names of something? Places? Tools or objects? Whatever the case, It was about time I started trying to gain a hand in understanding what was happening.

My body? Her body was looking at mine. That was apparent. However, it didn't answer my most staggering question: why was I in her head, seeing, feeling, smelling and hearing things as if it were my own body?

...Are we sharing?

No please, I enjoy a supernatural story as much as the other guy, but this was real life, grounded in realism...

Then again, I died, or thought I did, and somehow teleported here. Here being who knows where.

All of this was confusing. So, for simplicity's sake, and my sanity's. I was going to assume a few things. First, I was currently stuck in someone's head. Second, my body was mindless, or without a soul. Three, What I was hearing were the woman's thoughts. Fourth, If something put me in her head, something can take me out.

With those ground rules established, I calmed down a bit. In the meantime though, it seemed the woman decided to inspect my jacket more closely, stripping it off me. Normally, I wouldn't mind letting someone use or see my jacket, but given how my body was unconscious, and probably in some sort of coma. I could only hope she didn't decide to rob me, kill me, or leave me here.

 _Well, whatever the case, I can't just leave him here. Southtown wasn't far from here._

Southtown? Sounds like some cheap excuse of a name. Someone was slacking during that particular meeting. But besides the point. She sat down beside my body. And I felt her brows furrowed in what I could only imagine was deep concentration.

That was another thing. It seemed I retained the five senses, with the rule being, I sensed what she sensed. Not what my body sensed. In other words, her movements and sight where things I experienced as well.

It was a grand leap of logic, but one I felt safe in doing. After all, I was feeling new sensations I never had before, like my veins, they felt heavy. Yet, my body felt light, toned and nimble. It was the first thing I noticed. My stomach also felt full, but not in the same regard someone felt after eating. It was different. Like something was bubbling at the pit of my stomach, building up, storing away. Like raw energy. If raw energy had a tangible feeling, that is.

It seemed that even though I could hear her thoughts, I couldn't hear all of them. Otherwise she'd be talking nonstop. I seriously doubt anyone could go even a minute without ever thinking a single thing, let alone long pauses. That just didn't feel natural.

So, it led to one of two conclusions.

One: She was actually talking outloud, and I can't hear her thoughts.

Two: She gave me access to some of her thoughts, if only accidentally.

It was something I could test out easy enough, I simply had to wait for her to speak again, telepathically or otherwise. She remained seated by my body for a few more minutes before a sudden foreign feeling of uneasiness washed over me.

I had no need to feel uneasy, beyond obvious reasons. But none at the current moment. Why did I experience that? She didn't make a move at killing me at any point, so I can't imagine my instincts would scream at me now.

No, perhaps it was her? Maybe she was feeling uneasy? As a result, I experienced it too? Maybe, but at the same time, my mind was finally calming down. As such, it allowed me to see my situation for what it was. Complete ludicrous.

Perhaps now, I realized the perpetual uneasiness my dilemma entailed. After all, who gets teleported to a new place, in another person's body to boot? It's crazy just thinking about it.

 _Should I wake him?_

I snapped to attention. It didn't feel like her lips moved. In that case, I could assume that she thought that. But then it led to the next question: Why could I hear some of her thoughts? Was it because she restricted my ability to hear, or was I subconsciously doing it myself? Like a key used to unlock a door.

Whatever the case, could I possibly communicate with her? Could I relay a message? I would really enjoy our communication to go beyond one way. It would save me plenty of time in figuring out just what in the hell was going on.

* * *

Robin was experiencing a bad day. That was apparent the moment she used Pass and took Grima's draconic breath on her Exalt's behalf. She would never forget the excruciating pain that followed. Just the thought made her feel for the holes her body once had.

The fact that said holes were gone was another thing. She dealt with this before. Time travel. But for it to be so precise, so exact and instantaneously after what was a mortal wound was something she simply couldn't wrap her head around.

The ritual for time travel was intricate. And apparently very demanding. If her doppelganger's claim was in fact true. Then it meant whoever sent her back, most likely crippled themselves in doing so.

Who wasn't the question. It clearly had to have been Naga, as Grima didn't seem like the type to hinder his own plans for dramatic flair.

The question was, why? Robin thought about it objectively, her death didn't really mean much in regards to executing her plan. And even if she died, Chrom could still defeat the fell god. Albeit, he wouldn't destroy it. It wasn't like her plan required any additional adjustments. They reached the end, all they could do was fight and pray.

Yet, here she was, sent back in time for a third try at saving the world. At least, she assumed so. After scanning the area, all she could really make out was that she was in a Ylissan forest. It was summer too.

She could tell, she only had 3 years of memory to work with, as such she was quite confident in recalling a lot of minuscule details.

Speaking of minuscule details. There was a man laying on the ground. At first Robin thought he was dead, but his chest raised and fell, which was enough indication of him being alive. She inspected him closely, focusing on his apparel.

It looked thick, way too thick for him to be from Plegia. He did look Ylissan, but his coat seemed suited for the cooler climates, it made her believe he was probably Feroxi. She took the coat from his person, and examined it more thoroughly. It definitely was created with the purpose of retaining heat.

Robin believed that the man was probably in a similar situation as hers. The probability of her waking up in the middle of the forest with another person seemed highly unlikely no matter how she looked at it. She sat down beside the man and pondered the possibilities. If he was in fact a fellow time traveller. Then why was he sent here? Who was he? Did Naga send him, or was it Grima?

The thought disappeared as quickly as it entered. He was unarmed, looked physically frail without the jacket and didn't really seem foreboding. Besides, even if he was powerful, she was confident in her skills to incapacitate him if the need arose.

She surveyed the area again, seeing trees in all directions. She wouldn't say she was particularly fond of the forests of Ylisse. But this one was quite nostalgic. Or, as nostalgic things can get for an amnesiac. It was the very first forest she ever went to as a part of the shepherds.

It meant that Southtown was nearby, an hour or two away. An easy march, considering the ones she's had to do before. However, she didn't want to leave the unconscious man here. She also did not want to carry him there. She could try waking him. But remained hesitate in doing so. What if he was injured, ill even? She didn't want to aggravate anything further. She never did bother picking up any healing magic, nor was she adept at deciphering whether someone had internal injuries.

Perhaps the best course of action would be to go to Southtown, seek help then come back for him. Granted, it meant leaving him defenseless. Or, if she went to Southtown, and Chrom was fighting bandits like last time, she was worried she may get swept by the pace of rejoining and forget going back to rescue the man at all.

 **No! No, don't forget me, I need your help!**

Robin stiffened. The voice was foreign, but the feeling wasn't. It was just like the time Validar infiltrated her mind on Carrion Isle.


	2. Dual Discoveries

**I don't Own Fire Emblem Awakening or the Characters from it. I do own my own character.**

 **On another note, THANK-YOU so much for the response Dual Reawakening got so far. 13 followers, 5 favs and 3 reviews in 3 days is awesome! With plenty of viewers too! I'm sincerely grateful and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it.**

 **Onto responding to the reviews:**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: Thank-you kindly. I was hoping the concept was unique but also intriguing. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

 **jamescollins77770: You ask and I'll strive to deliver. Funny though, last chapter was the biggest one I've ever posted on this site. And now I've exceeded that record even more so. (Also, the periods erase your name from showing apparently. So I had to take them out.)**

 **Hammerschlag: Thank-you very much! I'm super glad to hear that. I hope you continue to enjoy the read!**

* * *

Robin had experienced this before. Back on Carrion Isle, Validar, her wretched father did something that allowed him to infiltrate her mind and pester her thoughts. What she heard just now, was undoubtedly a spell similar to that.

Similar because although the general concept of the spell remained the same, there were distinct differences between them. Where Validar's spell was cruel and tortuous, this one felt harmless. Where Validar was present as an illusion, there was not a visual representation of the voice currently residing in her head.

Which led her to her next mystery. Who was the voice? Certainly not Validar. His tone was condescending and demanding. Whereas the voice was pleading and etched with desperation.

She was so distracted by the voice itself that she didn't really pay attention to what the voice actually said. All she managed to make out was his tone. It meant that although they found a way to infiltrate her mind, they probably didn't have ways to extort her.

Not that she was willing to risk it. It could very well still be a ploy. Knowing how the spell worked, or a variant of it. She decided to mentally communicate with her new tenant.

 _Who are you and why have you inserted yourself into my mind?_

There was silence. No response, it made Robin feel uneasy. They spoke to her before? Did they truly think they were being coy? Did they take her for a fool?

She was new to life in this timeline, not to life itself.

It irked her greatly. To be sent back in time and mere minutes upon returning someone already cast a infiltration spell on her. She was in the middle of the forest, there wasn't a single other human around. And although distance didn't particularly play a part in the spell, the knowledge of the person existing did. Meaning that, the only person capable of casting the spell on her, right now had to be the only other person she has spotted since her return.

The man.

The one laying on the ground before her. Instinctively her eyes fell upon him. He was alive, but sleeping. He had to have been the person to cast the spell on her. Perhaps he was awake as she slept and that was when he cast the spell.

It didn't make logical sense, to infiltrate someone's mind then sleep beside them. But, all the circumstantial evidence pointed to him. After all, someone infiltrated her mind. And that someone must have seen her, or at the very least known she existed. He was the only other human in the vicinity. He was the only other person who could know of her existence.

 _I'll ask again. Why have you inserted yourself into my mind?_

…

Silence followed again. It seemed almost as if the person didn't understand how to use his own spell. It left Robin at an impasse. Without any direct communication, all she could do was wake the man up. She nudged his shoulder softly. Then with a bit more force.

No response.

She crossed her arms and put on a thoughtful expression, then after a moment proceeded to shake him vigorously. His head flailed all over the place, as if his neck wasn't supporting the weight.

 **Stop! What are you doing to my body!?**

 _So it is you!_

 **I didn't do it! Wait, I'm just as confused as you are.**

 _The only thing I'm confused about is how you know of me._

 **I don't!?**

 _You're lying, you've cast some variant of the infiltration spell, it's the only explanation as to why I can talk to you right now._

 **Cast what? A spell? I don't know magic!?**

Robin hesitated. His tone was desperate, that was apparent the very moment he created the telepathic-link. But if he didn't know how to cast the infiltration spell, then that meant someone else cast it on him.

She looked back to the trees, she already knew no one was hiding or around for that matter. Panne taught her the basics of tracking. Any evident signs of people ever crossing her path seemed unlikely. Unless they were adept at hiding. Looking back at the unconscious man, Robin slowly stood up and retreated a few paces.

 _Then… Who are you, where does your allegiance lie?_

 **Uhm.. I'm Derek Kingsley. My allegiance? I don't really get what you mean by that.**

 _Which halidom or kingdom do you hail from?_

 **Kingdom?**

… _I've seen this before. Amnesia?_

 **...Yes, Yes I have amnesia. I don't remember how I got here, here being inside your head.**

Robin tried to hold in the sigh. She also tried not to facepalm. But did so anyways. So she had a person allegedly stuck in her head, without recollections of ever entering. And beyond that, he was an amnesiac who didn't even know where he was.

That would cause a few problems. She wasn't even entirely sure if she could believe him. For the time being, she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. She felt obligated to, since Chrom gave her so much more than skepticism when he found her sleeping on the ground.

 _Great, this was not how I thought my day was going to go._

 **You're telling me.**

 _What do you mean by that?_

 **Oh, was waking up in a different body commonplace here?**

 _Oh joy, he snarks too._

 **Anyways, you said something about Southtown, I'm guessing it's a town to the south?**

 _Can't imagine what gave you that idea._

 **I'm just trying to be concise.**

 _Nothing about your statement was concise!_

 **Hey, listen, I realize this is probably a frustrating position for you.**

 _First off, don't tell me to listen, because I physically cannot not listen. Secondly, this is obviously a frustrating position for me, why bother with the adverb at all?_

 **Are you asking to make a point, or are you curious about my mannerisms?**

She took a deep breathe. She was not about to have an argument inside her own mind. As frustrating as the whole ordeal was, she still needed his cooperation if they wanted to dispel the spell.

 _How did you know about Southtown? I never brought it up?_

 **Wait, are we just going to igno-**

 _Yep. I realize a pointless conversation when I see one._

 **Sigh… Well, you actually did. Bring up Southtown that is. I just couldn't respond to you at the time. You were thinking about it.**

… _How long was that for?_

 **I don't really know, I guess the moment you woke up?**

 _So then you saw who cast the spell on me!? Do yo-_

 **You're misunderstanding. I woke up, the same moment you did. I also seem to feel the same emotions you do, to a marginal level. And, I think I can feel the same senses you do. For example, everything I see right now, is through your own eyes.**

 _That's… that's a lot to take in._

 **Yeah, it feels like I've been taken completely out of my own body. And I doubt my body would wake up without me inside it.**

 _Even with context that still sounds ridiculous._

 **Sorry.**

… _It can't be helped._

Robin was starting to believe it too. Derek didn't seem like a very capable spy, or actor. And even if he were, why pretend to be stuck in her head, acting like his body was currently without a soul? The very story was ridiculous and didn't fall under any paradigms of magic for her to base her reasoning on. In other words, she was starting to think it wasn't an infiltration spell at all.

They were starting to have more differences than similarities. That frightened her, if she couldn't understand it, she couldn't solve it. A part of her wanted to still think he was lying, or that he was in fact casting the infiltration spell and was simply playing into her doubts.

Unfortunately, that theory couldn't really take off. As Miriel once explained, it was a perfect case of reductio ad absurdum. If he did cast the spell, then that meant the body before her wasn't the body of the voice but a different person altogether. Moreover, it meant he knew of her existence. Meaning, he had to have travelled through time, at an exact moment where he'd have managed to prepare the components of the spell, then cast it on her. He'd also have to either incapacitated someone then throw them in the forest with her. Or bribe them into watching over her, only for said bribed person to fall asleep on the job.

It was simply ludicrous. The lie was too complex, with too many possible holes that would undermine the whole purpose of the lie.

But, believing someone on the basis that what they said was a really bad lie felt overly cynical. Granted being grounded in realism tended to go hand in hand with longevity. She recalled having a similar conversation with Chrom about it.

That being said, just because Derek could be trusted didn't mean she was going to enjoy it. By any means. It hardly improved the situation, it only made one problem disappear. How was she supposed to help save the world as part of the shepherds if she had this kind of baggage to worry about?

Speaking of the Shepherds, she wasn't even sure if joining them was feasible now. As far as she was concerned, she'd most likely be stuck with taking care of Derek's body until they could find a way to send him back to it. Except she didn't have the slightest idea on how to do that, or where to start for that matter.

Maybe the Priests of Naga? Mages of Ylisse? Naga herself? Two of those suggestions could be found in Ylisstol. Well actually, only two of those suggestions were possible. Regardless, it meant her best course of action would probably be to go to Ylisstol. However, the capital was directly in the opposite direction of Southtown. Moreover, it was a two day trip, not a two hour one.

She would need supplies, and likely a means to transport the body in a manner that wouldn't exert her beyond her capabilities. Despite Ylisstol being the final destination, it couldn't be the immediate one. With any luck, she could get help from the Shepherds too. So with that in mind, Robin took a deep breathe before attempting to pick up the man.

Despite how bulky he initially looked, he was surprisingly light. The only problem Robin had was with keeping his body from leaning back and ultimately falling. Something Robin fixed by wrapping his arms around her neck and leaning forward slightly. They wouldn't help with supporting him, but at the very least he wasn't entirely susceptible to falling over all the time.

 **You feel determined, what's the plan?**

 _We're going to Southtown, getting supplies, then heading to Ylisstol._

 **Hmm makes sense.**

 _Aren't you curious about Yliss-_

 **Oh right! What is Ylisstol?**

 _...It's the capital of Ylisse, the continent we're currently on._

 **Oh nice! That's good right?**

 _It is._

 **Great, so why are we headed to Ylisstol? Think there is some people there who could fix this?**

 _That's what I'm hoping for._

The two fell into an awkward silence. Not that Robin was complaining. The march out of the forest was done quietly, with only the stray bird chirps and cricket cries to be heard in the background. Carrying someone made the march considerably longer. But, It was already something Robin accounted for. She was confident in her physical fitness and endurance, due kindly to Frederick's fitness hell hour.

By the time they reached the outskirts of the town, she was panting, and beads of sweat slowly trickled down her face and neck. The sun was bearing down, it's rays bordering on scorching. Robin's throat was dry and she felt a bit dizzy, her head hung low out of fatigue. She wouldn't say she miscalculated. But, she certainly didn't expect to be worn out this greatly. Somewhere to rest was in order.

She forced her head up and looked before her. The town's entrance had two guards posted, who looked at her with confused and tentative expressions. She'd explain it after catching her breathe. To her left, was a rather large river. It was dark blue and flowed through the town, dividing it in two. The town had a small wooden fence bordering it's perimeter with farmland beyond it, riped and ready for harvest.

She heard footsteps advance towards her, snapping her from her temporary daze.

"State your purpose traveller."

* * *

"My companion and I are exhausted, we want to rest for the night," The woman said.

Woman being Robin. Fire Emblem tactician Robin. White pigtailed-esque-thing Robin.

That I figured out quite quickly. Even if I didn't want to actually accept it as reality. I mean, it's one thing to be teleported to another place, that was supernatural, and weird. Same with being in another person's body. But a video game?

Now not only was that reality breaking. It was just plain cheating. How could I coin this up as anything other than a dying person's delusions? Classic escapism at its finest. I was near dead, probably lying unconscious in front of the car, thinking about how much better it would be to live a life, where my responsibilities were minimal. Hence the fact I wasn't in my body, but observing someone competent from theirs. Or perceived competence. Since Robin was the tactician of the shepherds, it meant he… or in this case she, had many responsibilities to juggle, as well as many tasks and duties. She was probably my epitome of well managed responsibility.

Granted, my knowledge in psychology didn't stretch far enough for me to make any of those claims. Even though the whole experience felt like a dream, delusion or wish fulfillment. For my sake, I would simply indulge it. I could go on and on about whether or not this was in fact my new reality, or just a delusion. I had facts to prove both of them correct. As such, I thought this dilemma seemed to mirror schrodinger's cat. I would treat it as if it was both real as well as fake, until an event can prove one or the other correct.

I probably didn't use that right, but my knowledge of quantum physics only really extended to the thought experiment.

But I digress, the point was It just didn't seem feasible for myself to truly be sent to Ylisse of Fire Emblem Awakening. I hope it was at least. Awakening was the one with time travel and the marriage/kid system, I'm almost certain.

I wouldn't deny that my knowledge on the game was lacking. As it was completely and entirely secondhand. A friend of mine went on and on about the game for months. Ultimately, it forced me to check it out. As a result, it prompted me to watch a few playthroughs of said game.

It was interesting. All of the romance options and potential relationships was the most unique feature in my humble opinion. I was used to a standard rpg, and turn based strategy wasn't something novel to me. I've played chess.

But the support logs were quite entertaining. It was a simple yet enjoyable way of fleshing out characters who were anything but relevant to the plot. It made the characters feel alive, or at the very least important. I thought it meshed well with the other renown feature.

Permadeath.

Which, I never actually witnessed, because the uploaders never posted any of their failed runs. I couldn't imagine myself even enjoying the additional stress. I suppose it simulated what being a tactician with the pressure of keeping alive those dear to you would feel like.

My generally bleak demeanor quickly shifted to a feeling of relaxation. I didn't panic, although a normally abnormal experience, this was simply a reaction to perceiving Robin's emotions. I've quickly realized that any feeling that abruptly appeared and forced my own emotions to falter was in fact the feeling Robin was feeling. In other words, she was relaxed.

I focused on her sense of sight and saw… nothing. I metaphorically scrunched my brows. Odd, what was causing that? I focused deeply on Robin, concentrating as I sent my message towards her.

 **What happened? Why is it dark? Did you turn off the light?**

A sense of exasperation surged through me. I paid it little attention focusing on her other forms of perception. It smelled fresh and warm, like something baked was left out to stand. I didn't hear anything other than murmurs in the distance and felt something warm and soft behind her back and legs.

 _No, I just closed my eyes._

Oh. That would make sense, I guess. I didn't bother commenting on her response, but instead asked her about our whereabouts. After all, after her initial comment at the front gate of town, I kind of zoned out all of my senses.

 **Are you laying in bed? When did you even get into a hotel?**

 _Hotel? I'm at a Inn right now. What's a hotel?_

Great, careless slip of the tongue. Although they do have hotels here, they don't actually call it that, do they? I honestly should have known that. This world had magic, and dragons, and sociopathic monarchs. I would have to get used to the way things are now, fast. My culture shock was showing. My convenient amnesia excuse wouldn't be able to cover up information none of us should know.

 **I don't know… I think it's a word for Inn.**

 _Hmm, interesting._

I felt quite uninterested at that sudden moment. It was obvious as to who's emotion that was, but I decided against pressing the matter.

I was more hung up on the fact that I couldn't see anything when she couldn't see. I wasn't sure what to expect with the predicament sharing a body would entail, so I delved into researching and experimenting during the walk to Southtown.

For instance, If I concentrated deeply, I could focus on one particular sense of hers, and feel it in an enhanced manner. However, in doing so, I restricted my ability to use any of the other 4 senses during that time. It was interesting, a bit frightening at first, but ultimately meant I could actually be helpful to Robin during fights.

That was probably a bit of a stretch. But, being holed up in her body for a few hours already left me pretty stir-crazy, even if I experienced all of the external stimuli she did. It wasn't to the same degree as her. I felt her exhaustion, but I didn't actually experience it. More like I knew of its existence. Like a present status effect to keep track of if nothing more. Her emotions too. They washed over me, taking predominance over my own emotions. But only for a second. And not strong enough to change any of my thoughts or stances on anything. Nothing influential basically.

Moreover, the enhanced sense wasn't something she experienced. She always retained her five senses. It was only I who felt a change. If it was an rpg stat system. Then, I had 100 points to allocate to one of 5 stats. She, had hers divided evenly 20 into each category, without any possible way of changing them.

They were permanent stats.

I on the other hand, could switch how I allocated those points. Either divided them evenly like she did, or pool them all into one of the five categories, at the price of not being about to use any of the four with 0 in their stat.

The difference however, was that it wasn't a permanent investment for me. I could change my allocations as much as I wished. Perhaps with further practice, I could put those 100 points in the five categories more flexibly. As of now, it only seemed helpful for hearing things she wouldn't or smelling faint odours.

Which was to say, not very useful at all, as it was highly situational.

 **Uhm… Miss?**

 _Robin_

She finally introduced herself! Perfect, now I wouldn't have to worry about accidentally calling out her name. My excitement acted as a suitable pause, to simulate confusion. I concentrated in responding, I still had a front to keep, so it was best to feign ignorance.

… **Pardon?**

 _My name is Robin, nice to meet you._

 **Likewise. I'm Derek.**

 _So I've been told. By you… earlier…. Nevermind._

 **Rough day. I know.**

Anger spiked through me, before it quickly calmed into sadness. A bit of something else too. It was honestly more emotions than I was used to receiving at a time. It felt weird. Almost like a headache, had I had a head that could ache. Phantom headache maybe? That was not a discovery I wanted. I could go without ever experiencing a migraine again.

The pain slowly ebbed away. Allowing myself to recollect my thoughts. Now that I knew who she was, it meant I could try to place myself in the timeline. Or. I could have had she actually woken up in a timeline that coincided with the game.

I recall her waking up in a plains, south of southtown. Not north in a forest. Also, the protagonist of the game wasn't even there to wake her up? Something was completely wrong about this whole development. I needed more information for two reasons.

One: to freshen my memory.

Two: to help me understand where in the plot we've been placed.

Luckily, I had just the loaded question for her.

 **Robin, what were you doing in the forest?**

 _Pardon?_

 **Well, I don't remember what happened to me, but you seem to know your way around here quite well. You even managed to get to an inn before I even realized it.**

Worry. I felt it for a second before it disappeared. From what I could make out of it, it sounded like it was her second time here. But, that was a conclusion done on one word and feeling alone. I needed more data.

 _I…. it's not something you'd understand. Don't trouble yourself with it._

 **Why won't I understand it?**

 _Because you're an amnesiac._

And she threw my own lie at me. I could have left it like that, but I didn't want to go another minute with getting the information I needed. The amnesiac lie was convenient. But not one I'd be able to hold up. If only because it would restrict by ability to interact with the world even further.

It was a risky decision, one that very well could backfire. But, given how my day was turning out, it was about time I started trying to create my own luck rather than wait on it.

 **Alright, you've caught me. I'm not actually an amnesiac. It was just a ru-**

 _Obviously._

… **Sorry?**

 _You're a horrible liar. I had my suspicions from the start._

 **Ah… well, er, I… I'm still stuck in your head. You believe that right?**

 _Yes, but not because you seem trustworthy._

 **Wait wha- Is it one of those cases where it's too crazy to be made up?**

 _Exactly that._

 **Huh. Go figure.**

 _Why lie about being an amnesiac? You weren't convincing._

 **Hey, that last bit was uncalled for. And… well… it's not something you'd understand. So don't trou-**

 _Don't throw my own words back at me._

 **You threw my lie at me?**

 _That was because you were lying!_

 **Well… I'm serious, it's a pretty crazy story. Even crazier than being stuck in another person's body.**

 _Please, don't worry about it. This barely falls into my 'Top 10 Craziest Moments of my Life'._

 **Ooo-kay… Uhm, are you familiar with the multiverse theory?**

 _Parallel universes to our own. I've heard about it._

 **You're experiencing it. Actually.**

… _what are you saying? Are you a time traveller?_

 **Yes and no. But that's mostly because time travelling isn't something anyone can explain... or understand for that matter.**

 _I had a feeling._

 **You're taking this far better than I thoug-aaaat? How in the hell could you have expected that already?**

 _It's because I'm Robin._

 **That sounds familiar to something... Well, you've really taken the wind from my sails here.**

 _I am a time traveller too. In fact, that's the reason why I was in the forest._

 **Same! Exactly! Glad that's out of the way.**

 _Yes, this was oddly relieving._

 **Wait, I'm not actually a time traveller now that I think about it.**

… _Go on…_

 **Well, back to the multiverse theory. I'm just from a different planet altogether. Or different dimension from you? How do I explain it… Uh, you know how Lucina comes from a future where you're the devil dragon? But in the pres- Fuck.**

Shame washed over my in waves, drowning me in their sorrow. It was a crippling sensation, eradicating any other feeling I had. Sorrow, dread, despair, hatred, regret, hopelessness. They rolled off in unrelenting waves. Like a tsunami crashing against my psyche. It was agonizing. These emotions felt very real and far more commanding than any other I've felt before.

 **S-sorry! R-robin wait, relax! That's not your fate!? Right, you're supposed to challenge it and w-win.**

 _I know._

And just like that, they were gone, sucked in and bottled up. Without a trace, she was back to remaining composed. I must say, I was impressed with my ability to coax her into feeling better. That was far exceeding my standards of tact and encouragement. Usually, I would screw it up somehow.

 **You… you do?**

 _Of course, where did you think I've travelled back from?_

… **Killing Chrom… actually.**

Agitation spiked through me. And that felt more like the usual me. Perhaps it was best not to put out fires with gasoline. Although the agitation dissipated shortly after, I could still feel her feeling it. I definitely should have watched my mouth. That was really damn stupid of me.

I noticed Robin was no longer laying in bed, but pacing anxiously around the room. On the corner of her eye, I spotted my body haphazardly draped across the chair. Because of course it was. The sun poured through the open window, bathing the oaken floors with warmth and natural light.

 _How is it you know of my past if you hail from a different world?_

That was a tricky one. I had a feeling telling her she was a character from a game would do little to alleviate the sudden perpetual tension I was feeling. But at the same time, I didn't want to lie any more than necessary. Mostly because I'd find a way to ruin it for myself somehow.

 **Your adventure was documented. It's way in the past from my world.**

Not the truth, but not exactly a lie. Her story was in fact documented. Just as a video game instead. I'd have to make due with that and swear never to say the word video ever again. Should be easy enough, I don't think that kind of technology existed.

 _Interesting, why did you decide to go back in time?_

 **I didn't. I was forcefully sent here.**

 _By who?_

 **I don't know, a resentful god?**

 _... I see. That's unfortunately barren._

 **Well, if it helps. I was sent back the moment I died. Or, just before I would have died.**

No response, just the feeling of recognition.

 **Actually, I have a few quest-**

 _Shhh._

I remained stunned into silent. I spilled out all of my secrets. All I wanted to know was why did she seem to know about future events. She was supposed to be a former amnesiac. Knowing her name from the get go was supposed to be weird. Right? Also, the emotions she felt after I ever so delicately uprooted her darkest secret was exactly how someone who knew about it would react.

She shouldn't have known who Lucina was. Or that she was the avatar for the fell dragon. They were endgame plot points. But, didn't she say something about that? What did she say?

'Where did you think I came from?'

Said directly after I told her to challenge the fell dragon. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I had little to no influence on cheering her up. If anything it was just a momentary lack of composure. One that didn't even extend beyond her internal turmoils Her facial expressions were quite even at the time. It made her seem all the more impressive. She had a surprising control over her emotions then. I mean, just thinking back on my own past- it wasn't nearly as bad as hers. Not even remotely, but I was certain I would have done far more than just allow my emotions to intensify for a second.

Robin crouched and pressed her back against the wall, her head tucked just under the window. She tilted her head to the side, angling her left ear closer to the open window. I decided now was as good a time as any to pool all of my focus into hearing.

It felt empty, black nothingness. I heard a few faint things in the distance. Shattering glass? Satisfied grunts? Pained screams? Loud steps against cobblestone roads, it came from all directions. A fire roared in the distance. After deeper concentration however, I rendered my own ability to hear useless. The sounds soon feel into complete chaos. A cacophony of sounds meshed together making deciphering things impossible.

I released my focus, letting the other four senses return. Robin was currently rummaging through her coat, as if she was searching for something. Whatever it was, was causing her a bit of distress. In the distance I heard a loud crash, and the sound of flames intensified.

My curiosity shifted to excitement as Robin found the item she was looking for. A worn out book, that looked like it's seen better days. The spine was cracked, and the front faded, it looked salmon in colour. The pages themselves were thick, yellowish and crinkled.

She hastily put it back inside her coat pocket. Seemingly only wanting to know if she had it and nothing more.

 **Is that a tome?**

 _It is._

 **Why did you pull it out?**

 _Bandits are here. Just wanted to make sure it was still there._

 **Hmm, wait bandits? In history, it says you joined the shepherds during a bandit raid.**

 _Exactly. Time to make a good first impression._

 **What about my body?**

 _What about it?_

 **I… will I be safe here?**

 _Please, those sorry excuses of fighters couldn't kill your sleeping body even if I tossed it at them._

 **You're going to have to pardon me for not finding that particularly reassuring.**

 _You'll be fine in here. Besides I need to go make contact with the shepherds. It's essential for getting your body to Ylisstol._

 **Alright. My life is in your hands.**

With that, Robin left through the door and nimbly made her way through the hall then down the stairs. The tavern section of the inn was abandoned , people likely fled first sight of raiders. Robin took the opportunity to hop over the counter and scavenge for something. After a minute or two, she grabbed a large bottle of clear alcohol. She gave it a quick inspection before smiling.

 **Really?**

 _It's for my grand entrance._

 **You intend to out drink them?**

 _No. I intend to deliver a fiery show._

With that, the tactician stood up and made her way to the only entrance and exit the tavern had. They were double doors that led to the market square. I found that out when she slammed the doors open. The bandits were already littering the place. They all turned at the sound and quickly became on edge.

"Lost missy?"

"Yes, actually, I can't for the life of me tell which one of you is in charge? You all look equally incompetent," She responded, shrugging her shoulders in feigned disappointment.

Or actual disappointment, if the new emotion I was feeling was anything to go by. Whatever the case, I was left speechless, pissing off a group of scary looking killers was probably the dumbest thing I've ever been a part of. I didn't even need help getting killed, as was evident from my accident. And yet, here she was putting on a front of bravado and gall for... her fiery show?

They practically growled at her, but she took it in stride as she walked down the cobble steps and passed a toppled fruit stand. Flies were already circling the wasted produce. To the north of the market square was a small bridge, connecting the market to what looked like a church.

Standing before the church was a brutish looking man with a horrible posture problem. His face looked scared, with white flesh contrasting his otherwise tanned complexion. He held a village girl in his arms, harassing her with remarks too quiet for us to hear. He had three of his men guarding the bridge.

Robin confidently walked pass one of the brutes, paying him absolutely no mind at all. At least, it came off that way. She was actually very alert, her instincts screaming at her to cover her flank. I suppose she had a flair for the dramatics. Or she really wanted to make a good first impression.

After the bandit was firmly at her back, he took action, his steps loudly clapped against the cobble and he snarled at her.

"Don't ignore me wench!"

Robin ducked under the attack, with efficient short movements. Had she not dodged, her head would have been rolling on the ground. The thought made me nervous. But at the same time, I was at ease. She was expecting it apparently, and as he continued his swing and passed her, it was obvious due to how much he telegraphed it. The bandit overextended and threw himself off balance, to which robin slammed the bottle against his head.

Wait whaaat?

 **How the hell was that supposed to be a grand entrance!?**

"It was instinctive! The bottle felt similar to my sword, it just happened," Robin answered hotly.

"Well, you'll be regretting that you bi-"

Robin jabbed the bottle forward, smashing it against the bandits face. Bone cracked under the force, and his body went limp as he passed out unconscious. I would have winced if I could. It looked extremely painful and his nose horribly crooked.

 **Was that also instinctive?**

"Nope, entirely intentional."

"G-get the wench!?" A bandit called out, pointing a finger at the tactician.

She sighed raising a hand to her head. I felt a bit bored immediately afterwards. Wasn't really a surprise, after that sort of display, I was confident in believing she was pretty powerful. Even if beating a man up with a bottle sounded just as ridiculous as it looked.

"Would love to play, but I'll be leaving you to the others," Robin calmly explained, dodging a fireball tossed her way.

It exploded against the inn, splintering wood under the heat. The explosion was ridiculously huge for what was considered the weakest fire spell in the game. It made me anxious thinking just what her salmon tome did.

 **By others… you meant you'd leave them for Chrom and the Shepherds?**

"Exactly," Robin said, inspecting the bridge more closely, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

 **Why? Won't it be better to take them out right now? You look capable enough in doing so.**

"'Capable enough'? Ha, that's funny. No they're hardly worth any combat experience. Better if the others tried their hand at it. That way they can get their feet wet."

 **O-oh.**

Robin perked, looking to her side as another fireball was launched her way. The small orb of volatile flames soared through the market square at a rapid pace. Through her eyes, it looked almost like a molten bullet.

I wanted to flinch back, or dodge like she did before. But instead, she stared at it before lifting her free hand up. The fire impacted against her palm, exploding into smoke, obscuring my vision. Or, more accurately, hers. Regardless, the sensation was mildly prickly. The smoke soon dissipated. Leaving the mage completely flabbergasted at the end of it.

"Hmm, seems I'm actually resilient to magic of this caliber. That's good to know," Robin mused.

 **Did you just voluntarily get hit by that for the sake of science?**

"Miriel would be proud,"

 **I'm pretty sure anyone else would be concerned.**

"I'm pretty sturdy, they'd have no reason to."

 **No, they'd have a reason alright.**

Another bandit advanced on the tactician, a myrmidon who to me, looked very agile on his feet and silent with his steps. He practically danced towards Robin before leaping in the air to perform a downward slash.

Robin sidestepped the sword as it whizzed by. It clanked against the ground loudly, disorientating the swordsman. She took the opportunity to pin the sword between her foot and the ground, disarming the bandit. He stared for a second, to which the tactician returned the gaze.

He turned and ran in the opposite direction. Seemingly lost the will to fight any further. Robin didn't bother to pursue him. Instead she turned her focus towards the bridge again. The bandit boss looked back, letting go of the village girl in the process.

The girl fled the scene as quickly as possible, the bandit, nor Robin even dignified her with a glance. The two of them were too focused on their standoff. It occured to me that Robin wasn't even acknowledging the three units on the bridge, who looked a bit stiff and out of their depths.

"You think yerself tough ay lass? I've cut would be heroes down before," The man snarled.

"Spare us your bravado, I'm not going to be the one to cut you down,"

 **Wait, you're not?**

"I literally discussed this thirty seconds ago," Robin hissed, turning her head to the side.

It was becoming apparent my commentary was just hindering her concentration, and her plans. After all, she just said that out loud instead of mentally communicating like before. I was just glad no one important was nearby to hear her.

 **I'll stop talking now.**

Relief swept through her. The kind a babysitter felt after the parents rolled back home. It didn't make me feel particularly helpful. I metaphorically pouted and just decided to wait on the 'fiery show' Robin had in store for the guest of honour when he arrived.

"Anyways, I'm just here to clear out the bridge," Robin explained in faux boredom.

"Har har har, You? You may be skilled, but-"

I tuned him out as another voice pierced through the air. It was loud, energetic, and feminine,

"Chrom! Look, there's someone fighting the bandits!"

"Then let us lend them a hand," A masculine voice responded. Chrom no doubt.

 **Chrom's here.**

Robin's lips curled upwards as a smirk started to form on her face. She took a deep breath, and then her stomach suddenly felt very strange. The raw energy from before was moving, almost like it was coursing through her veins and into her limbs. It felt cold, yet hot, chilling, but burning. The opposite sensations created what felt like a numbing heat that slowly reached her finger tips.

Her hand grew hotter, and from the corner of her eye I saw it. A flame, small, but flickering with vivid intensity. She was casting magic! That's what that feeling was. It was mana! It had to be. That's why it felt foreign. Humans of earth don't use magic. Or have mana running through their body. I knew it was fishy from the start.

"Bottoms up, don't let it burn you on the way down," Robin called, tossing the bottle up in the air towards the trio of bandits.

The two axe wielding brutes looked puzzled, offended even. But the mage seemed to understand the implications immediately. In three steps no less he was diving off the side of the bridge, plummeting into the dark blue waters.

The bottle picked up momentum as it fell. It was right between the head's of the bandits when Robin decided to throw her fireball. In a fast arcing throw the flames collided with the bottle. Shattering the glass and igniting the contents with a quick reaction. The flames ate at the liquid, erupting into a strong smelling fire that consumed all it touched. The bandit's sides were licked by the flames, and their clothing soon followed.

They howled in pain before they followed suit with their formerly dry companion. They tossed themselves into the waters below. Two splashes were heard a moment later, leaving the bandit leader alone, and his bridge unguarded.

 **Did you just make an improvised 'improvised weapon'?**

"You kidding? Feroxi alcohol is way more effective used as a incendiary, also, as a way to sterilize wounds, but never to actually dri-"

"W-wait!" A third voice panted, sounding out of breath and fatigued.

Robin turned to face the Shepherds. However, instead of the three expected to be there, there was a fourth. Chrom, Frederick and Lissa, as expected to be at Southtown during the bandit attack, as well as a man wearing an identical coat as Robin's. He had white snow hair and pale skin. His hand had a purple tattoo printed on the back, and in said hand was a small yellow book.

Beside him, was Chrom in his regal blue armor, Frederick coolly on his stead and Lissa, in… well, she was wearing a skirt with metal wiring creating the shape of a bell. It almost looked like a birdcage. I guess a fashionable piece of armor? A dress suited for combat? It looked very uncomfortable to sit in… or impossible really.

Wow, that was really weird. Did all clerics wear that? Just her? If so, then was it a princessly obligation or done out of personal satisfaction? It was something to delve into further at another time. There were more pressing concerns at the moment, as was clear by Robin's sudden feeling of confusion.

She tensed, her eyes glued to the white haired man. He stiffened the moment his eyes made contact with hers, hazel brown locked onto hazel brown with uneasy confusion. She mirrored the emotion as well as the perplexed expression.

I don't blame her. The person across from her looked like her male counterpart. And that was most likely because he was.

* * *

 **Author Note: Bigger chapter, as such, more prone to typing mistakes or grammatical ones. That being said, it meant I devoted even more time into editing. I'd be pretty bummed out if I missed something obvious.**

 **Anyways, to clear up any confusions (if there were any),**

 **Bold: Derek's Mental Voice (how does one bold bolded letters?)**

 ** _Italics_ : Robin's Mental Voice**

 **"Quotation Marks" : Dialogue.**

 **On another note, the format of Dual Reawakening will be First-Person Perspective for Derek. Third Person Subjective for Robin and any others. Rotating between the two styles throughout the story and usually the chapter. That being said. The story will revolve around Robin and Derek.**


	3. Dual Agreements

**Review Response(s) -**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: Glad you like it! Naming may be different to what you expected. To answer your final question, yep I intend to involve other characters once I feel the story mandates it!**

 **Onto the chapter!**

* * *

"You've got gall lass, to turn yer back to me is as good as embracin' death!" The bandit leader shouted, gaining Robin's attention as a result.

She turned back in time to see a spinning axe soar towards her. Panic spiked through her for a second as she swerved her body to the side, twisting in a funny angle. The axe was thrown with such precision and consistency that it sliced through a few of Robin's white hairs with minimal resistance. It clanked to the ground, ricocheting in a erratic manner before hitting one of the stalls.

Beyond the stall, Chrom, other Robin and Frederick were in the middle of dealing with the remaining bandits. Their motions weren't nearly as fluent as first Robin's. But adequate enough to give the bandits more than a difficult time.

Robin turned back to face the bandit with hatred burning in her eyes. Well, the emotion I was feeling was certainly hatred at the very least. The man had a cocky grin plastered on his face as he juggled another axe in his hand with practiced motions.

He was good. A capable fighter in his own right.

 **I think you have to take him out yourself.**

 _Oh he'll wish I didn't._

 **Naturally, who ever wants to be taken out?**

Robin slowly reached into her coat, retaining complete eye-contact with bandit. He looked unflinching, even excited for the bout. His face fell when he saw Robin pull out her salmon coloured tome.

"A tome? Yer really pushin' yer luck with me lass," The bandit said, catching his axe, his grip tightening on the handle.

 _Derek Kingsley, does the bridge appear to be made of sturdy stone to you?_

 **It can be made of whatever the hell you want it to be so long as you never do that again**.

 _You're ruining my moment._

 **You're just going to overkill the shit out of him, how is that even considered a moment?**

"Well then sheepy, the butch'r has arrived!" The man said, charging towards the tactician with agility no man his size had the right to. He preemptively held his axe behind his body, ready to be swung the moment he got in range.

It was a brash strategy relying more on brute force than tact or ability. Something I knew Robin possessed. She could have blasted him with whatever spell her tome possessed and be done with the fight. She should have blasted him and be done with the fight. Instead, she charged head on, mirroring his overeagerness.

I knew she was strong. But she was still unarmed. What did she really intend to do with a tome from close range? My mental panicking became more and more frantic as the two got closer. They were both on the bridge sprinting at one another with no sign of relenting. It was like a really bad and drunk game of chicken.

When they were approximately a meter away from one another, they sprung into action. The bandit with one quick motion brought his axe diagonally down.

It was too telegraphed though, Robin rolled to the side, turning her body in a manner that ultimately took her forward after her initial roll, allowing for the axe to swing by harmlessly. But beyond dodging the attack, once she stood up, she was dangerously close into the man's guard. And given her feeling of accomplishment, no matter how small, it gave me the impression that that was her plan from the start.

His eyes widened in shock, but only for a second before scrunching into a hard glare, he jabbed his free hand forward. But again, Robin was one step ahead, she brought her arm up, and ushered his punch to the side. With her free hand, she started to channel an abundant amount of mana..

The similar sensation surged through her body and her hand practically ignited into a burning inferno. The bandit watched with unmasked horror as Robin brought her own fist into his unprotected and barren chest.

The flames made contact with his flesh, charing it quickly. Instead of leaving it at that, Robin continued her thrust, using her leg to swipe his from underneath him. He fell, and with the momentum slammed into the ground with an audible crack.

The flames spreaded across the ground on impact, and the bridge shaked. Cracks splintered from his body and stretched all across the bridge.

He was definitely dead. If not by the fire itself, then by the force the magic projected onto his body. But, really, his body was burnt to a crisp, and his face etched with a look of agony. He was charred flesh and the smell was so atrocious and overpowering that I felt delirious. Like my vision was spinning. The feeling didn't last long. As sickening as it was, I quickly became accustomed to it. Much to my displeasure.

 **T-that was brutal. I was just kidding about the overkill!**

 _Your first time seeing death?_

 **...No, but never seen someone... 'willingly' take another life like that.**

 _I see I apologize, but you'll have to come to terms with it._

 **Why though? Couldn't you have spared him like you did the others?**

 _...No, some people can't be redeemed. Some need to be dealt with._

 **That's just screwed up.**

 _Is it really such a foreign concept?_

 **Yes! Killing because they deserve it is such a ridiculous notion! You're playing with lives here!**

 _He's a bandit, do you think he cared about the lives he took?_

 **Probably not, but shouldn't you?**

 _I did. He was willing to fight to the death, even after seeing the display I showed earlier._

 **That only proves he's an idiot. Was. See! I'm still not used to him being gone!**

 _Alright, you live in a time of peace then, you haven't seen war have you?_

 **Peace? Yeah, I guess you could say it's relatively peaceful. But a bandit attack hardly can be considered equivalent to war.**

 _An individual attack is never considered a war, simply a part of it._

I wasn't done with the conversation, just about ready to continue it when the sound of a friendly voice broke the relative silence. Or as much silence a post battle could generate.

"That was impressive magic there, friend," Chrom said, walking up towards us.

Robin turned to face the man, he had a cut on his face, a small knick. Worry spread through me for a second before fading. Robin bowed her head and stuffed her tome into her coat.

"Thank-you your highness, I only did what I thought was best,"

"Please, no formalities. Simply call me Chrom," The blue haired prince said, smiling warmly.

"As you wish, Chrom,"

A weird warm feeling followed. I ignored it in favour of looking beyond the prince. Lissa was practically skipping towards the pair with the other Robin in hand. Frederick was doing a quick sweep in the background for possible stray bandits.

He looked overly diligent in that regard. He stopped to pick up what looked like rocks from time to time. It was a peculiar sight. Speaking of sight, I noticed Robin already made her way from the bridge towards the inn. Standing before the tattered and scorched building was the royal siblings and male Robin.

"Oh my gosh, You were just as cool as Robin here! What's your name?" Lissa asked in an exuberant manner, dragging the amnesiac tactician.

She was good at making friends by the look of things. Also, looking at the other Robin more closely, he looked pretty similar to Robin. Which made sense, given how they were the same. But it was still an odd experience, Like meeting a peer you've known for a while only to realize they're utterly and completely different. A doppelganger I guess. Which, also makes sense. Because, he's basically a doppelganger. This was pretty confusing all things considered.

"Uh… my name? It's Robin," She introduced, only glancing for a second before looking over other Robin intently.

"Really? I thought it was an unusual name, is it really so common?" Chrom asked innocently.

The implications however, were there. 'What a lucky coincidence'. Lissa looked from Robin to Robin with starry eyes. The great knight seemed done with whatever he was doing, as heavy thumps headed our way.

"You're not Robin," The female one said bluntly.

"Huh? No, I'm almost certain I am,"

"No, Trust me, I'm Robin,"

"I am too,"

"You're confusing my name with yours,"

 **What are you doing!? Can't you deal with there being two Robins?**

 _Noo!? I'm the only Robin, I should be the only Robin too, He should change his name._

 **Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?**

 _I'm gonna make him change his name._

 **Whaaa? No, wait, think about it before you do anything! You're meddling with an innocent's life!?**

 _He's me. He's definitely me from this world. He'll understand._

 **You're crazy!**

 _Maybe, but crazy comes with the name, my name. Mine alone._

 **Just share it! What's wrong with sharing a name?**

 _Too confusing, I'm not going to have someone specifically ask for me. Robin alludes to me. It's my identity and only memory before making new ones._

 **It's his too.**

 _Yes, but he doesn't have any memories tied to it. He only recalls Robin. So…_

 **So?**

"I can't possibly imagine how you confused our names brother?" Robin sai-

What.

 **What.**

* * *

Robin looked on with a placidly normal expression on her face. The reactions from everyone were equally different, but retained the general crux. Complete shock. Lissa's mouth hung open and Chrom coughed awkwardly. The other Robin- who's name Robin realized would need to come up with shortly, looked on with wide eyes.

"B-brother?" He repeated numbly.

"Yes, baby brother to be exact," Robin explained offhandedly with feigned exasperation.

 **What.**

"Well… it certainly explains the… similarities," Chrom offered awkwardly.

"Woow! You had a big sister as cool as her?"

"I… I don't remember," The male tactician said, shrugging his shoulders, he turned to face Robin, "are you truly my sister?"

"Yes?! Are you pulling my leg? It hasn't been more than a few years? How could you have forgotten me."

"Er… well, I apologize then… I just don't have my memories right now,"

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, raising a furrowed brow, she folded her arms too, to further solidify the look of skeptical confusion.

"Oh, He's an amnesiac, it means he doesn't have recollections of his memories," Lissa explained.

"Milord, milady, the area is clea-, may I ask who this is?" Frederick reported, interrupting himself as his eyes fell upon the new face amongst their band.

"Frederick, this is… well her name is Robin, she's… uh," Chrom faltered, he didn't know who their friend's name was now that it was cleared up.

"Well, if he truly doesn't recall his name… It's... Raven," Robin said, pausing to think a bit before deciding on the first name that came to mind.

 **Are yo- that's a girl's name!**

 _Shut up you, I panicked._

 **No shit, and now he's gonna live the rest of his life as Raven, the teen titan.**

 _Pardon? He's only going to remain a teenager for another year or two if he was as old as I, when I started off._

 **Oh… Wait, how old are you?**

 _It's not nice to ask a lady that._

"Raven? Truly? That's odd, I don't remember it at all," Robin, newly dubbed Raven said, looking puzzled.

"Perhaps it's because my name is better,"

 **Hey don't rub it in! You stole his name!**

"Ha, Raven sounds nice. I'm glad for it, certainly better than Robin," He remarked smoothly

Robin practically seethed at the remark, turning and just about lunged at her counterpart before the great knight cleared his throat loudly. All turned to face him.

"It's nice introductions are done and all, but shall we get onto more pressing matters? Those brigands spoke with Plegian accents, milord," Frederick said, bringing the conversation back to reality.

Robin heard this before, and sure enough, Raven asked what it meant. Lissa explained. And so forth, although Robin couldn't really recall exact word for word. The theme remained the same. As such, she did her best to pretend to be paying attention as she surveyed the area.

The bandits that fought Chrom and Raven were dispatched, killed whereas those she fought remained alive and free. Although she did it intentionally, she couldn't help but feel she may be doing an inservice to her adoptive country.

Of course, it led back to the debate she had with Derek. He seemed very against the act of killing. Which made a semblance of sense to her, given how he was apparently vastly from the future.

That statement in itself had many implications. Reassuring ones. If he was from the future it meant the world was saved, correct? Except, that idea was dashed due to the multiverse theory. She knew that, she had evidence of it before her in the form of Raven.

So, although Derek's world was saved, hers and Raven's could very well still be in jeopardy. She couldn't rest easy. Not until blatant results were evident. Not until Valm was one conqueror less, and the Grimleal godless. Also, she had to deal with the tenant in her head. In other words, she had another three busy years ahead of her. Luckily, she's already done it all before.

She knew all the twists, it was like reading a mystery novel from the back forth. There was nothing that should surprise her. And as such, she felt herself confident. Not to mention just how powerful she was. She could do plenty of things on her own.

For instances, contacting the future children. That was a priority of hers. If she could get battle ready elite fighters like them much earlier on, there may very well be things she could fix, solve, or daresay prevent.

Too many things to think about for her to delve into specifics. But the gist of things was to contact Lucina, and to persuade her into aiding them. How? Not a clue, she could simply claim to be a time traveller. It would probably work, maybe.

She wouldn't dwell on the possibilities until they were present.

To conclude, she felt as if this time, she wouldn't impose on the shepherds. She wouldn't join them directly. She had another more pressing agenda. She was safe in thinking this way because of one person. Herself. Or more accurately, the male version of herself.

Raven.

If he was anything like her, it meant he was a tactician with phenomenal knack for growing, exponentially. He would be a valuable asset. One that basically threw her out of a job. Although it bothered her slightly in thinking so, it did open up the chance to contact future children as well as get Derek back into his own body.

However, she'd need to find a safe place to put his body. Which was the tricky part, the priests? A hospital perhaps? It would cost coin, a consistent amount. She'd need to convince Chrom to make her a shepherd, one who did her own thing, almost like an honorary member.

 **Hey, your emotions are all over the place, what's up?**

 _The sky, but beyond that, I'm just thinking about our next step._

 **Ohhh. I'll leave it to you!**

 _...You're not curious?_

 **Well, yes, but I'll probably disagree with you.**

 _Hmm, I see. In that case, don't worry about it._

 **Will and won't!**

"Robin, you've been awfully quiet, what's your purpose here in Southtown?" Frederick asked, snapping the tactician from her trance.

"Hmm? Oh, I- my companion and I were looking for a place to rest," Robin responded, pointing towards the inn.

 **Might as well time them I'm in a coma. They could probably help us.**

"Oh? Are you telling me to believe they slept through all of the chaos?" The knight said, gesturing to the bloodied and defaced plaza.

"Frederick, easy, not every stranger we meet will be a spy or brigand," Chrom stressed, sighing afterwards.

"Of course, milord. However, I'm simply doing what my job mandates,"

"That's completely understandable sir knight. He's in a coma, so waking up is a bit difficult for him," Robin explained nonchalantly.

Despite the somber undertones the statement had, Lissa giggled a bit. Everyone turned to face her with raised eyebrows. She panicked and started frantically waving her hands, "That wasn't funny, I just thought, Raven called Frederick 'sir knight' too. You two really are siblings."

Everyone was appeased by the response, not that they were really bothered by her reaction anyways.

Frederick hesitated, and ultimately gave up on the matter, "I apologize, I did not know the whol-"

"Water under the bridge, I actually have a request,"

"As do I, Robin, would you join us? The shepherds could use a powerful mage such as yourself," Chrom offered.

Robin noticed the distinction, and felt oddly saddened by it. Nevertheless, she did intend to request assistance from the shepherds. It ended up working out as she wished, since if she were a member, she wouldn't feel like a burden dragging along an unconscious body.

"Of course! That was exactly what I wanted to ask myself!" Robin beamed, Lissa giggled at her exuberance, finding it contagious.

Frederick on the other hand sighed before slowly placing a hand before his face.

"Your companion too. Ylisse has the best clerics in the kingdom, Lissa here could probably patch him up right now," Chrom said.

Something told Robin that the problem was a bit more intricate than that. But ultimately led them towards the room. She had to go pick him up anyways. She opened the oaken door, to reveal Derek's body, sprawled on the ground, somehow falling off from the chair he was draped on.

"Shit," Robin hissed under her breath as she went to pick his body up.

"Si-Robin, who is this man? Did I know him too?" Raven asked, absently looking over the room.

"No, I'm afraid, I've only known him for a bit,"

"Hm... "

"Robin, how did he fall into a coma?" Lissa asked, going towards his body, staff in hand.

"Uhh…." She hesitated, her brain lagging for another lie to say.

 _Well?_

 **Well what? I said I was leaving it to you didn't I?**

 _Are you kidding? I don't know what caused this? What kind of lie could I possibly make?_

 **You seem like a far better liar than me.**

 _And pray tell, what do you mean by that?_

 **Nothing, you said I was a bad liar, remember?**

 _You vindictive son of a-_

"Robin?"

"I'm sorry, I think it was some sort of illness, I don't know much about medicine though,"

"A likely story," Frederick murmured under his breathe in a manner that certainly was loud enough for anyone to hear.

"Well, I tried my staff and nothing changed. He's physically healthy," Lissa reported, a puzzled look on her face.

She pouted and shrugged her shoulders to which Chrom placed a reassuring hand over her head. She squirmed from under it and glared at her brother in mock anger.

"In that case, I was wondering if the priests of Naga could be of any help," Robin said, smiling at the display.

"That might work, I'm sorry I couldn't do much to help," Lissa apologized, her face falling again.

"No, no, it's fine, I appreciate the attempt," Robin answered smoothly, smiling towards the young princess.

"Carrying him may prove to be difficult though, can your mount carry another person Frederick?" Raven asked as his hand rubbed his chin.

The great knight refrained from answering instead, turning to face Chrom, who in return gave him a stern look.

"Yes, it can carry one additional person," The knight said after much reluctance.

"Great, then we should press forward to Ylisstol once all of this is arranged," Chrom said.

Lissa spluttered, staring wide eyed at her brother, "Chrom! It's almost night time! Just look outside, even the sun's going to bed!"

"I apologize milady, but we must make haste back to the capital," Frederick explained calmly.

"You guys suck," Lissa pouted, sulking as she scrunched her brows together in childish frustration.

Raven laughed despite his best efforts to contain himself, "you shepherds are quite the dedicated bunch."

"Dedicated isn't what I'd call them," Lissa mumbled offhandedly, still sulking.

Robin watched the scene pan out with a strong sense of nostalgia, with minor tints of sadness. On one hand, it was splendid to see these variations of her friends remained similar as the ones she knew, but bothered her deeply that she wasn't the one participating in their conversation.

 _This feels familiar yet so different at the same time._

 **Different because I'm here?**

 _You're more of an unfortunate accident. You don't play any part in how I feel right now._

 **Okay, true. But still, ouch.**

Robin, preoccupied, missed the rest of the conversation. She clued in again once Chrom turned to face her.

"Well, Robin, are you ready to head towards the capital?" The prince asked.

The tactician stared at Chrom before smiling warmly at him, then nodded in agreement.

* * *

The walk towards the capital started relatively uneventful. We made some relatively good ground with the dying embers of daylight. The interactions between all of the members were oddly funny.

It was a bit surprising to find Raven very adamant about learning as much as possible. It made me wonder if Robin was like that too when she woke up. Frederick led the pack, with my body practically strapped around him.

A bit humiliating yes. But I couldn't imagine what the great knight was going through. From Royal Guard to pack mule. I'm sure he was suffering embarrassment just as badly as I. I just hoped he didn't snap and simply turn on us all with the vengeance of an underappreciated servent.

The image was pretty fun to think about. But ultimately was unlikely. Robin, demonstrated her prowess. And holy, did she have prowess. Practically a monster on the battlefield if the small sample was anything to go by. Just thinking about it gave me phantom shivers.

After what felt like an hour or two of walking, nightfall soon descended upon us. The sun slowly fell over the horizon, it's light bleeding onto the ground and stretching out for miles.

"I told you! It's getting dark already!" Lissa whined.

She proceeded to complain about insects and their sudden appearance before having the misfortune of eating one.

"Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" She animatedly exclaimed.

I think I remember that line. It was also the title for the joke song right? Huh, hearing it out loud sounded more like she said 'one got in my mouth'.

Oh, now that I thought about it, that's probably exactly what she was trying to say. Moments later, as if rehearsed, the rest of the party started to talk, teasing Lissa as the formulated a plan to rest for the night. I tuned them out in favour of surveying Robin's surroundings.

It was just trees. I don't even know why I bothered. Trees lined the wide dirt path, and with the descending sun, it gave the whole area a general vibe of spooky foreshadowing. Perhaps, that had something to do with the fact I had hindsight bias. I knew things were going to go south. Robin did too. She did well to mask it, but I felt a tinge of anxious excitement swirling around her.

 **Nervous about something?**

 _A lot hinders on this meeting. How much do you know exactly?_

 **You realize asking a question as vague as that would be the equivalent of me responding with 'enough'. Right?**

 _Hilarious, do you know about the Risen?_

A feeling of serious no-nonsense washed over me. I decided to mirror the emotions I temporarily felt for once and adopted a similar stance and tone.

 **I do, they're dangerous. Grima's underlings essentially.**

 _Correct, they will appear tonight, as well as an essential ally._

 **A lot is at stake then.**

 _Right, So I'm going to ask you preemptively not to talk during the battle._

 **Heehee. Wait… you're serious?**

 _Of course! You were highly distracting! I sounded like a crazy woman!_

 **For the record, you don't just sound crazy.**

 _Don't talk. At all._

 **Fine! Fine. What about my body?**

 _What abo-_

 **You can't answer with that line every time I feel worried about the fate of my body!**

 _It'll be protected…_

 **Whew. That's a reli-**

 _Maybe._

 **Huh!?**

"Robin, can you fetch some firewood for us, since Lissa doesn't seem particularly enthused by the idea," Chrom asked, snapping Robin's and my attention respectively.

"No more character building!" Lissa repeated vehemently.

Or as vehemently as an adorable princess can sound like. She pouted childishly while crossing her arms. She glared a very non-threatening glare towards her brother who took it all in stride.

"Of course, Chrom," Robin responded smoothly.

She didn't waste any time in heading into the ominous looking forest. She was way too calm. The branches, the dark bark, it all looked alive and scary. I heard the soft tap of her booted feet pressing against the dry forest floor. She marched on utterly cool. Honestly, she was peerless, impressive even! She knew what she was doing too. Her movements held purpose and she examined fallen branches for but only a second before adding it to her bunch or tossing it aside. After scavenging for a few minutes, she headed back towards the site with a pile of dead branches and leaves in her hands.

She was unfazed by how dirty it ended up getting her. She did make the effort to roll up her sleeves first though. Her priorities, I found felt a bit backwards, but I decided against commenting on it.

The site looked rather tidy given how it was just a gravel trail. The surface was smooth, Frederick really knew how to clear a site. That was for certain. His mount was tied to the nearest tree, idling. Raven and Chrom were absent, likely hunting for game.

The great knight was currently inspecting the trail for any marginally big pebbles to evict from the site. He turned once he noticed Robin advance and quickly pointed towards a pile of sticks.

Robin nodded and plopped them in the pile with a satisfied smile. She turned and faced the princess who was currently crouching over my body with her staff in hand. My body was resting on a cot, It was then that I realized that my winter jacket was long discarded, and all that was left was a shirt, jeans and scarf.

I was touched by her dedication. Regardless, I really feel like it's just something out of her depth. Robin felt the same in some regard, as she felt slightly saddened or troubled by the scene.

"Thank-you for all you're doing Lissa," Robin said, placing a comforting hand on the princess' shoulder.

She startled a bit then faced the tactician with a forced smile. I didn't fool me, no way it fooled someone as perceptive as Robin.

"I haven't really done anything though," Lissa faltered, her voice slowly dropping to a quiet murmur.

"Knowing someone as kind as you is watching over him undoubtedly brings him strength," Robin affirmed with confidence.

The princess smiled again, this time slightly more genuine before giggling.

"Look who's mood improved!" Chrom says, emerging from the woods along side a rather miffed Raven and what appears to be a… a bear?

 **Is that a bear?**

 _Why yes, yes it is. I haven't had any since my first time._

 **That sounds horrible.**

 _I was pretty famished, actually. I still am now. Any food is good food._

"No thanks to you and Frederick" Lissa bemoaned, garnering the attention of both respective people.

"But Lissa, life in the wilderness-"

"Builds character, yada yada! I'm seriously regretting this decision ya know!" The princess interrupted exasperatedly.

"Wild game milord?" Frederick asked walking up towards the commotion.

"Yeah, Raven and I were lucky enough to find this guy," Chrom explained, patting his comrade on the shoulder.

Raven paled, clearing not agreeing on the sentiment the blue haired royal had. He turned to face his sister and subtly shaked his head in disagreement.

 **I'm almost certain that would fall directly under the category of misfortune really.**

 _Can't imagine what prevents you from complete certainty._

The group quickly assist Raven with the corpse and neatly cut it up, place it over the fire, and rotate the meat in proper intervals. Well, in all actuality, the entirety of said duties fell to the great knight. Who for whatever reason obliged the requests with utter gusto.

I knew he liked to serve, but it's just plain unnerving seeing him abide to all of Chrom's commands. Even if the prince himself was unaware of the fact half of what he said was interpreted as such.

Before long, the group was situated around the rather large and crackling fire. Cooked bear meat was passed around on sticks. Robin was quick to plunge into the meat.

I'm filled with satisfaction for a second before it ebbed away. It tasted like unseasoned meat. Objectively, it tasted horrible and I quickly pool all of focus into the sense of sight. Anything to get rid of the horrid taste.

I feel a bit giddy when my allocation of points proved to actually benefit me. It made me feel smart, clever even. I got around the taste through my ingenuity!

 **Damn, I'm good.**

 _Any sentence that starts like that, can't be anything more than unwarranted hubris._

 **No way, I'm serious. I just outplayed the hell out of that.**

 _Weren't you complaining to me about vagueness like an hour ago?_

 **Right. Uh, well I remember when I said I can sense the same things you can?**

 _Yes, it was only a half a day ago._

 **Exactly. Anyways, I can focus on only one of your five senses. For example, given how disgusting the meat tasted, I shifted my focus to your sense of sight. That way I do-**

 _Wow cool your sails there. One, bear meat isn't disgusting. I've had it twice and both times it's proven to taste like ambrosia. Two, are you saying you're willingly denying yourself access to some of my senses?_

 **Yeah, It's not permanent. Just until you're rid of eating that stuff.**

 _Huh. Interesting I suppose._

In typical fashion, a sense of disinterest washed over me. If only I had a mouth to scold with. If only. With my enhanced sight, I scan over the fellow group members.

Lissa appeared thoroughly dissatisfied. Refusing to take a bite from the meat, whereas Raven was ravenously devouring his food as if he hadn't eaten in a while. Chrom showed evidently far more poise, which is impressive for skewer eating and finally, Frederick simply appeared slightly greenish in his complexion. I guess wild game didn't sit well with him.

I saw their mouths move, but given the allocation of my senses. I couldn't hear a single thing. It was a bit off putting, but it's a small price to pay for the absence of gummy and overly chewy taste in my mouth. Hers. Whatever.

Eventually, Robin does end up finishing and I revert back to all senses. I experience a temporary sensory overload due to the absence persisting more than a couple minutes. Regardless, I'm meet with the cool breeze blowing across her cheeks, the chill of the night sky, the crackle and pop of the flames, the heat it emits, the chirps from the crickets, the cries from the owls. The whole place, the whole area felt so alive.

It made me dread for what was about to happen. Magma to spew from the earth, zombies to fall from the sky. The very thought would have given my shivers if I had any body to shiver with. Speaking of a body, or lack thereof. What was I going to do for sleep?

 **Yo, Robin, are you going to sleep?**

 _I'll get some rest before the events play out, yes, why?_

 **Was wondering if I go to sleep too, ya know? I mean, how does that even work?**

 _You raise very strong and valid points._

 **Think so? You fla-**

 _I'm going to go to bed now though, so let me know what happens._

 **Wha- There's no way you could go to bed this easily even if you wanted to!**

 _Of course I can._

 **This seems like a highly weird topic to argue. But alright, how would you?**

 _It's because I'm Robin._

 **You oughta stop with that. Seriously, you're teetering on the edge of a lawsu-**

* * *

Robin's eyes snapped open. It was quiet, way too quiet for what was essentially a site in the middle of a forest. The birds and bugs stopped their respective nightly song. Robin blinked the sleep from her eyes, rubbing them to hasten the process before scanning her surroundings.

Chrom and Lissa were absent from their sleeping cots. Frederick and Raven however, were blissfully asleep. Derek's body was dragged closer to the fire before everyone turned in for the night.

Which reminded her.

 _Well, think I can't go to bed on command?_

 **It's probably the most startling realization I've discovered thus far...**

 _What's the verdict anyways? You go to bed as well?_

 **Yeah, but the moment you wake up, I do too.**

Robin schooled her features, but felt a tad bit disappointed in hearing that. She was hoping he would stay asleep a bit longer, give her a sense of normalcy again, or as much normalcy a time traveller warranted anyways. She didn't dwell on it for long, she did expect something like that. They share the same senses, perhaps they also share consciousness as well?

Robin nimbly slipped out of her cot, fetching her tome and slowly ventured into the depths of the forest. The moon acted as the sole source of light, giving everything it touched a silvery hue.

She made her way deeper into the forest, stealthy, as her steps left nothing to be heard. From time to time, Robin would stop to inspect the ground, or survey the trees, looking for a trace of the royal siblings.

Panne taught her enough in regards to tracking, meaning those who weren't masking the trail were relatively easy to lock on. Before long, Robin was well on her way towards where the siblings were.

All of this was done due to what she remembered Lissa telling her about the incident in her previous life as well as her own recollections of the event. 'A handsome boy saved her after leaping out of an eye looking portal thing'. Those were the words, she believed.

Additionally, Robin remembered being abruptly awoken by a loud explosion, a wave of vibrations and the smell of ash and thick smoke. Explaining to Frederick that she was just as confused as him proved easier than she expected as well. With his missing liege, his goal was to assure their survival before cutting down possible spies or traitors.

Robin's plan would be simple, meet up with Lucina before she had the chance to slip away, and the best chance of making that happen was by seeing her as she arrived. It wasn't a complex plan by any means, but there was hardly and need for overcomplicating things anyways.

 **Robin, I'm hearing something strange from the distance, it's faint but increasing rapidly.**

 _I see, thanks for the heads up._

As if on cue, a rumble swept across the ground, causing tremors of varying degrees to run rampant. The earth splintered and cracked, and soon Robin was steadying herself for balance. The silvery hue of moonlight was quickly replaced by the ever glowing pool of magma piercing through the grounds. It rained ablaze boulders, lighting up the dark sky, and engulfing the forest in an inferno.

Robin was in temporary awe before her nose was wafted by smoke, she also realized things were getting uncomfortably hot, as the engulfed branches slowly crept up onto her position.

 **I think you should run.**

 _Ever the voice of reason._

She didn't require a reminder, she bolted away from the source. Despite the dangerous situation she found herself in, she still remained aware enough to continue tracking the siblings. Which was incredibly easy as they practically left a wake of their own through the forested path.

She soon spotted the two siblings ahead of her, running at Lissa's pace. The poor princess was exhausted from today's events, and it showed. Chrom matched her pace, making sure she was never drifting too far from him.

Robin was divided whether she should catch up to them, as the feat was rather feasible with her Pass skill. Or if she should allow the events to pan out as she was told and remembered. She could simply hide at the edge of the clearing and intervene once Lucina did. The signal should be rather conspicuous given how it was a portal, twenty or thirty feet in the air. Robin doubted she'd miss that, so it ultimately came up to what she thought was the best course of action.

She was still racing across the uneven ground, but spared enough time to rub her chin in thought. Before she could come to a sound conclusion, however, her decision was abruptly made for her. The two siblings leaped down beyond her view over an edge of sorts, just as a meteor smashed into the ground, digging up dirt and sprinkling embers against the highly flammable trees.

A fiery wall and boulder blocked her immediate path towards them, she was forced to improvise. Pass gave her a burst of speed, and ability to seemingly shift through other people, not objects. Nor did she want to test her durability with real fire over magical ones. However, she didn't pause in her pace and instead diverged from the path the siblings took. She ran alongside the ledge.

 **Watch out! Fireball flying your way!**

Robin flicked her head to the side, blinding herself slightly to the sudden source of light and made a split second dive off the ledge. She landed hands first, and used her momentum to roll out of the dive, landing smoothly into a run again.

"Thanks, I guess I'm a bit overly excited," Robin said.

 **That was badass! I can't believe I just felt that!**

"Uh… right," She mumbled lamely, swaying her head from side to side.

She lost the trail, which made sense given that she actively took herself off it. The dive also slightly disoriented her, mix in the adreadline she felt pumping through her body. It was simply too much effort to calmly pinpoint their location. Life-death situations had that kind of effect on her.

Instead, she would look for the meet up instead. The clearing as Lissa explained those years ago. It didn't take nearly as long as she was expecting.

Robin found herself on the edge looking into the aforementioned clearing. There, a doubled over Lissa and panting Chrom were recuperating, taking a much needed breather after their recent forceful excursion. A fiery lightshow illuminated them as a backdrop.

Their moment of respite was hastily interrupted. Lissa pointed towards the sky. Robin followed her hand and witnessed small specks of white energy gather into a center, materializing a small ball before erupting outwards.

The sky fell into a black overcast, Slowly, glyphs formed a magic circle around the blinking portal. It's resemblance to an eye did not go unnoticed by Robin.

She was quickly fetching out her tome, preparing for combat.

 **What in the hell is that?**

 _The portal. The Risen are here._

* * *

 **Author** **Note: Absent for months, comes back, drops a cliffhanger. I apologize, but it felt like a decent spot. Anyways, university is a pretty tricky thing. Also, last year for me I needed to do well in some repeated courses. Hope you understand. If you spot any typos, let me know! I edited this a few times, but looking for mistakes in one's own work can be difficutl. he. he.**


	4. Dual Deviations

If I had eyes, they would have undoubtedly bulge out from my sockets. Zombies, the zombies have arrived! They're here and my body is somewhere in this on fire and riddled with walking corpses forest without a host in it!

I feel like panicking, but I'm quickly calmed by Robin's disposition. Or rather, she's calm with the whole situation. Perhaps cautious, but generally not really all that affected with the turn of events.

 **So what are you going to do? Wait it out? Intervene?**

 _We shouldn't need to intervene, Lucina will. Then we'll contact her._

 **Oh! Diverging from the history books. You sure that's a good idea?**

 _Nothing overtly jarring. Besides, I was brought back here to make a change, not maintain the status quo._

 **I guess when you put it like that…**

 _Anyways, adhere to your promise and zip it!_

 **Zipping!**

I could practically hear her mental sigh of relief before crouching closer to the ground. Her sight was only slightly obstructed by the foliage, which meant she had relatively easy time witnessing the whole cutscene pane out.

Zombies, Walkers, Risen. They are all synonymous for what was limply dropping from the sky. Their husk like corpses crashed behind some underbrush, hiding them completely. The only reason as to why I didn't assume them dead was because, 1, I knew better, and 2, they're grunts could be heard even from here.

To put that in context, they were directly across from us, on the other side of the opening. This placed them a solid 60, maybe 70 feet from Robin. Despite that, their blood red eyes glowed in the shadowy backdrop of the trees.

It was unnerving. They way the moved was charateristic to zombies too, sluggish, contorting, lumbering. Their hissing was getting louder as they slowly marched out from the forest line and into the clearing.

Chrom protectively placed Lissa behind him and unsheathed Falchion. In that moment, something seemed to resonate with the risen. Their cumbersome movements paused, and tension slowly permeated the air. Then, with speed very non-synonymous with zombies, the first risen crazily bolted towards the royal siblings.

Actually, it's speed was rather reminiscent of the zombies from 28 days, er weeks? Regardless, the risen was quick, and lunged towards the blue haired prince from at the very least 5 feet away.

In one motion, Chrom ducked under the horizontal swing and smoothly sliced through the risen's torso. His strike was precise, and on a human, most definitely an incapacitating attack, if not lethal.

However, he wasn't fighting a human. He was fighting a risen. Highly resilient minions of Grima. Chrom must have had a similar epiphany in regards to their durability as he placed a last minute defense against the Risen's strike.

Steel clanged against steel in a deadlock, both combatants wrestling for dominance. The prince quickly won out, using the weapon advantage to his favour. He hooked the axe and flung it wide, completely throwing the risen off it's stance.

He pressed forward, shoving the monster off balance before capitalizing with a swift plunge into the risen's back.

The monster froze, before dissipating into a purple smog. A spike of panic surged through me as my vision quickly shifted towards Lissa. She was cornered, her back pressed against a round boulder as the second risen slowly encroached into her vicinity. She feebly placed her staff before her, as if hoping the wooden stick would do much against the raised axe.

It wouldn't, she'd most certainly get cut down if no one assisted her. I couldn't possibly bare to watch such a young and relatively innocent girl slaughtered in such a manner.

 **Robin! Help her!**

As if snapped from her stupor, the tactician rose from her hiding spot and was just about to enter the fray when someone else beat her to it.

From the same portal, a young looking warrior leaped into the battle. They landed nimbly and dashed towards the princess, slipping in between her and her would-be assailant. Robin slumped back down into the bushes.

Her heartbeat was erratic, and she released a sigh of relief. Even she knew she left it down to the wire. She should have intervened sooner, all of this cautious and meticulous preparation would be pointless if people end up dying due to it!

 **Robin, what the hell!?**

 _I know!_

She snapped, her voice was shrill and frustrated. It gave me pause, enough to think about it. Now obviously wasn't the time. Dropping it would be best until the high-pressure event was over. Not to mention she didn't seem particularly thrilled by how things played out either.

I wisely chose to remain silent. Instead, I watched as Chrom and the newcomer performed a perfectly synchronized slash against the risen. Their form, their sword, everything was identical and the movements were mirrored precisely. That alone was enough evidence for me to comfortably assume the warrior was in fact Lucina. Chrom's daughter.

 **Risen are taken care of, shouldn't you introduce yourself?**

 _Not exactly, I'll keep an eye on Lucina and talk to her in private._

 **Yeah, I guess she'd feel less inclined to talk if her dad and aunt were around.**

 _Precisely. Besides, in my timeline, she ended up fighting a multitude of risen behind the scenes, if I could help her. I could set my plan in motion._

 **Plan? You have a plan?**

 _The more time travellers who possess key information about the future, the better._

 **Very true- hey, looks like the cavalry has arrived.**

Robin shifts her focus back onto the field. She heard the arrival of Frederick and Raven, but instead glued her attention to the mysterious swordsman. Lucina seemingly took the distraction as means to blend into the forests, delving deeper into the dark and obstructed branches, until her figure was no longer visible.

It was plenty enough for Robin however, and she quietly made her way around the clearing.

 _Think you can focus on hearing what they're talking about?_

Her request caught me off guard, rendering me silent. I didn't think she'd want me to do anything really. Not that I would blame her. A voice stuck in one's head would undoubtedly throw them off their game no matter how mentally resilient they are.

 _Derek? Can you? I'd like to know what their course of action is._

 **Y-yeah, Yes! I'll do that right now.**

I don't wait for acknowledgement, allocating all of my focus into hearing. The sound of burning trees and gluttoral hissing engulfed me. The overload would have made me wince if I had a body. Instead, it felt like an unscratchable itch. In all of the cacophony I do make out some voices.

"She wasn't with us,"

"Little can be done about it now, we must prepare ourselves against this new enemy."

"Right, after all of this, we'll look for her and the mystery swordsman,"

"Okay","Thank-you," two voices answer at the same time. Lissa given the meek femininity no doubt and perhaps Raven given the calm and calculated tone.

 **They don't know of your whereabouts, but are about to engage some Risen.**

 _I see. Thanks, In the meantime, we'll track down Lucina._

I evenly distribute my focus and once again and am gifted with the rest of Robin's senses. She seemed deep into the forest now, with trees surrounding her on all sides.

 **Aren't you worried about the rest of them?**

 _Of course, but, in my timeline we handled it just fine, they'll manage now. Chrom and Raven need the experience anyways._

 **Perhaps, but what of the Butterfly Effect? Don't you think you being here changed things?**

 _I can already see some changes, but none should make them magically incompetent, or the risen magically stronger._

 **Okay. So they got this.**

 _Yes, I believe in their ability._

 **So, what's the plan when you meet up with Lucina?**

 _She's a valuable ally and contact. She has information on the future, intimate knowledge that I could use to help fix things on a global scale._

 **Okay. But that… didn't really answer my question.**

 _I'm going to talk to her._

 **I guess I talked into that one.**

 _I'm pretty sure that's not how the phrase goes._

 **Well, I'm certainly not going to be doing much walking.**

She grimaced, but quickly masked it with a neutral expression. The tactician kept low to the ground and avoided contact with any risen that came around her general vicinity. It was rather impressive how easily she avoided the creatures.

However, due to all of the new bodies quite literally dropping into the forest, the ability to track people was proving to become undoubtedly more and more difficult for Robin. I'm safe to assume this given her rising agitation. I don't blame her, if I was trying to find someone and suddenly obstacles were raining from the sky to muddle my lead, I'd be frustrated too. Hindrances are generally a nuisance like that.

"Hah!" A voice shouts just as metal clanged against metal.

Robin snapped her head towards the general direction, anxious excitement quickly swimming through her. The voice was most likely Lucina, and the conflict didn't sound far, obstructed from view, but not far.

Robin hastened her pace but still maintained a level of caution. She weaved through the trees silently and kept her head on a swivel, as if looking for something. I personally found it odd, mostly because the sound itself was getting louder, and blatantly coming from a direction she wasn't looking at.

 **You uh… are you looking for something?**

 _A weapon._

 **A weapon? What do you mean, what about your tome?**

 _My tome? The one I use to conjure fires? In the highly dense and flammable forest?_

Her expression was in deadpan, her eyes flat and empty,clearly not impressed with my line of reasoning. All that did was make me feel embarrassed for the suggestion but frustrated due to her scalding dismissal. I obviously knew setting a fire in a forest was a bad idea, but what else could she do? Hit them to death?!

 **Better than any stick you'd find lying around that's for sure!**

Robin smiled knowingly, placing her hands on her hips as she turned around. Before her was a hunched risen. the creature was garbed in thin cloth armor and wore a protective headband. But those features paled in comparison to it's pale disposition. It looked utterly and completely disgusting.

It's gray skin was cracked and decaying, soft clicking was coming from the back of its throat, mixing into an unpleasant hiss. Honestly, I was disappointed how I missed the thing entirely. Other than apparently looking light on its feet, it's dry and loud voice should have alerted me a long time ago. I guess the conversation with Robin took too much out of my ability to notice other things.

Speaking of Robin, she seemed fully aware of its presence as she proceeded to fold her arms across her chest. She was impatiently tapping her foot away as she scanned over the monster.

Her eyes finally landed on the bronze blade gripped in it's han- Oh.

* * *

The creature didn't waste a single moment, it quickly lunged towards Robin. The attack was heavily telegraphed, and her naturally honed instincts were screaming at her that it was a feint. She however, knew better. Creatures this subpar were really just that. Subpar, and thus predictable.

Robin opened her arms and shifted marginally to the side, allowing for the blade to stab directly between her torso and arm. She took the opportunity to step into the creature's guard and stomped her foot into it's knee.

A sickening crunch followed impact, and the grey rotting leg soon gave out. Robin continued her step, ignoring how little the snapped leg resisted against the additional weight before smashing her fist into the creature's face.

The nose shattered under the blow and the monster was sent falling back. It attempted to use it's horribly bent leg for support, seemingly forgetting the state of uselessness it was left in. As a result, the risen helplessly continued it's descend onto the ground. It flailed it's swordarm around, attempting to slash at Robin feebly.

She simply disengaged the creature and watched as it fell with a small puff of dust. The creature attempted to get up, but forgoed the idea altogether once Robin walked into it's striking zone. It swung madly at the tactician, who stepped to the side and kicked at the creature's hand.

The blade was dislodged from it's fingers and spun around rapidly before embedding itself into one of the many trees.

"Hmm, probably could have just used a tome like Derek suggested." Robin mumbled quietly, ignoring the risen's attempts to claw at her feet.

 **Holy shit, you wiped the floor with it in like a second or two.**

Robin smirked at the remark. She took pride in the abilities and skills she learned throughout the years, unarmed combat happened to fall under her vast ocean of talents. It was courtesy of Khan Basilio who kept on insisting to teach her a thing or two in regards to a brawl. An elaborate con to get her to become his tactician. She thought it a rather odd incentive, but indulged him regardless. The West-Khan was persistent like that. At the end of it all, he did teach her enough to handle herself in a fight.

Of course, that was merely the foundation. Her strength in general was just completely leagues beyond the current risen. She could have slapped it to death if she so wished. It may have taken a while, but her point still remained.

In a smooth motion, Robin grabbed the hilt and pulled the blade out from the trunk. She inspected the bronze sword. It was rusted at the tip and most of its edges. It looked frail and brittle as well, worn from wear, it wouldn't last long. Robin hoped it'd last until tomorrow at the very least. She'd have to remind herself to get a new sword once all of this blew over. In that moment, an idea struck the tactician and her eyes practically glowed in excitement.

 _Derek, remind me to get a new sword after all of this._

Robin didn't wait for a response, instead she flourished the blade in practiced motions before walking over towards the risen. The creature continued to hiss and swing at her, a useless endeavor as the tactician purposely kept out of range. She used the extra length the sword gave her and plunged the blade into it's skull. The monster stilled, then dissipated into the purple smoke from before.

 **Don't treat me like an Alexa… and uh, yea, sure.**

Robin quirked her head to side. Who? She didn't receive much time to ponder it as another war cry pierced through the cacophonous noises. It was soon followed by clashing steel. It sounded slightly closer, and given how Robin had everything she needed, she decided to put Derek's mannerisms aside and focused on the task at hand.

The tactician nimbly traversed the maze-like forest until she broke through into another clearing. This one was more battle ridden than the first. In the center of a multitude of risen, was a lithe masked warrior.

Robin visibly sagged her shoulders once she saw Lucina. Or 'Marth' as she was going by. Said warrior was dancing around her opponents, not wasting a single movement in her swift strikes and deft dodges. Each attack transitioned into another, making her battle appear much like a performance.

Robin was undeniably impressed. Lucina's swordsmanship was leagues above anything Robin's seen in this world. Granted, her only reference of data were bandits, she didn't see how the Shepherds fought, but assumed they wouldn't be on par to the display before her.

Lucina kicked off one of the risen, sending it tumbling to the ground. She twisted in the air, using her momentum to slice through the unfortunate risen in her direct vicinity and landed in a roll, but not before spinning on her heels and slashing her Falchion across the stomachs of some risen attempting to flank her from behind.

Something told Robin that the shepherds- as they were now, weren't exactly on par with Lucina. Not that Robin faulted them for that, the prince and his friends were relatively green when it came to combat. Lucina on the other hand, was evidently seasoned. She also specialized with dealing with risen, given that was the bulk of what she usually fought, perhaps the only thing she actually ever fought.

Lucina bounced back up onto her feet and fell into her signature stance. Her sword arm was parallel to her face, and Falchion pointed outwards. Her other arm was tucked close to her stomach, her knees bent and posture loose. Overall, it was a unique stance, a stance Robin became very familiar with during the Valmese invasion.

 **She's amazing...**

Robin pointedly ignored his remark. If she responded to him now, it'd make him feel comfortable enough to continue chatting. And although Robin trusted her ability to effectively multi-task, she'd prefer not to if she could avoid it. Instead, she merely nodded in agreement before dashing out towards the clearing.

A lot of thoughts were swirling through Robin's mind. Firstly, with the confirmation of Lucina's arrival, it meant the fell dragon Grima succeeded in destroying this world. It meant that Robin was likely in the second iteration of Raven's runthrough. It explained his amnesia and readiness to accept a new reality, even one so last minute and sloppily made.

That meant, Robin had crucial information for the aftereffects of Lucina's crucial information. Robin was literally 2 steps ahead of time and fate. A notion so ridiculous, it gave the tactician pause. Pause long enough for a risen to get a lucky hit on her.

It sent her tumbling. However, she recovered fast enough to intercept an axe swing with the battered broze sword in her possession. Robin gritted her teeth as she was caught in a deadlock with the risen.

Robin was strong, through her endeavours and experience, her physical strength has reached its peak months ago. However, innate natural strength like the risen possess was a different kind that rivalled hers. Granted, Robin was only using one arm against the creature's two.

The other hand pressed against the creature's grey stomach. It was cold, but Robin planned on warming it up. Fast. The risen didn't even notice it's chest cave in by the force and heat of the fire spell, it continued pressing it's axe against her sword until it no longer had the weight or support to do so.

Robin waved away the purple haze and huffed with minor exhaustion. She bent over and clasped her knees with her hands. Tomeless elemental magic was incredibly difficult to do, even for someone as prolific and experienced as her. She could barely manage a 'fire' spell at her level, which would be stagering given how she's most likely the strongest mage alive in the world at the moment.

Miriel taught her the theory, but without a proper medium to channel her mana, it would be nearly impossible to control or maintain. It was like trying to plow fields without a hoe. It would take way more effort for nearly a fraction of the result. Tomeless magic, as a result was scrapped as a useless endeavor and more of a theoretical thought experiment. Not that Robin didn't continue practicing it.

The sound of clashing mental startled her out of her break. She raised her head and surveyed the clearing and watched Lucina finish routing the remaining risen.

The blue haired princess turned, her face stopping on the tactician. She flicked her blade before sheathing it and marched over towards Robin. The tactician fought back the growing smirk, it was clear that Lucina was royalty.

She was straight enough to press a steel rod behind her back with not a person being the wiser. Her face, or what wasn't obscured by the mask was a neutral expression, her lips forming a thin line. She carried herself with purpose, each step direct and focus.

 **She's coming over! I'm feeling the pressure.**

 _Must you be so over dramatic?_

 **I think meeting the person who has enough information to change fate should warrant some level of pressure!**

 _Except you're not meeting her! I am!_

"I thank you for your assistance," Lucina said, ducking her head in a small bow.

Robin smiled despite her best efforts to remain stoic, "It was nothing, I'm just glad you're safe,"

Lucina nodded hesitantly, if not confusedly before walking past the tactician, the sound of her boots were slowly fading as the tapped against the dirt ground.

 **I think you should just rip it off like a band-aid.**

 _I suppose that is for the best._

"Lucina, wait,"

Robin turned to face the retreating princess only for her eyes to narrow at the blade inches from her nose. The draw was silent and quick, effectively done. Robin nodded her head in approval. It seemed that Derek didn't share a similar sentiment, instead screaming inside of her head. The tactician winced and massaged her temples before focusing back onto the lithe form of the princess.

"How do you know that name?" Said princess asked coldly.

"I know it because I too, am a time traveller," Robin answered unflinchingly, even with the sword making her cross-eyed when she focused on it.

Silence, it seemed as if Lucina was contemplating the news she just received. She appeared deep in thought, losing focus on her swordarm, the blade started to waver in front of the tactician's face.

"Uhm, do you mind taking your falchion away from my face, it's a bit distracting…" Robin said after coughing softly.

 **And dangerous.**

Lucina jolted to attention and quickly snapped her sword out of range, strapping in back into her sheath. She looked slightly jumpy, and her lips formed a slight frown.

"R-right… If you know who I am, it is only fair for I to know who you are,"

Robin shrugged, not seeing that as much of a problem before responding, "Robin, recently joined member of the Shepherds,"

Lucina breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders sagging considerably. She paused in her behaviour, seemingly realizing her own actions and quickly stood at attention. The tactician smiled wickedly at her, prompting the princess into ducking her head. She coughed slightly to hide her embarrassment.

"S-sorry…"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lucina,"

"I'm glad to reciprocate the gesture, it's nice to see you again Lady Robin,"

Robin blinked. Her head tilting to the side at the revelation. What.

 **What.**

"Lady Robin?"

"Correct, I have much to discuss with you, but first, I must meet with my father,"

On that note, Lucina bowed respectfully towards the befuddled tactician before venturing deep into the forest. Robin stared at the retreating form until it was obscured from sight, branches and the night's embrace acted as her form of concealment.

Robin remained glued to the spot. Lucina just called him her father, not Chrom. Her father. Granted, she didn't specify who she was referring to, but regardless, she wouldn't have made that mistake. She was so adamant to keeping changes to a minimum, she never would have made such a careless slip of the tongue, no matter how Freudian it may have been.

 **I feel like I'm missing a bit of context here.**

 _A bit, puts it lightly._

 **Lucina called her dad, er, father, you get the point.**

 _I understand the implications, however the point of it remains undeniably elusive._

 **Maybe she trusts you to be a time traveller as well.**

 _She called me Lady Robin._

 **Okay, makes sense, maybe she saw y- oh…**

 _Even if she came from the past, I don't belong in this world. Neither do you. We are anomalies, should be anomalies. Her sense of familiarity should be impossible._

 **Her sense of familiarity had a sword pointed at our face.**

 _My face… don't start getting comfortable up there._

 **Yeah, yeah, anyways. She called you Lady Robin. It means she's familair with you. YOU. Not the other Robin of this world. But you of another.**

 _Yes, that's what I meant by impossible… Jokes aside, this revelation throws me off course._

 **Yeah… So what's the plan now?**

 _Proceed as usual._

 **You just said it thro-**

 _It does throw me off course, however, she wished to discuss things with me, so… discuss things we shall. Hopefully I can make sense of the situation by then, then I can accomodate my plans._

 **Intel gathering first, then modifications second? I can get behind that.**

 _Glad to hear it, we should catch up to Lucina. I might have some explaining to do._

 **Yeah, you disappearing during a zombie outbreak would probably lead to some misunderstandings.**

Zombie? Perhaps he meant risen, different vernacular maybe. Robin decided to leave the conversation at that and followed the princess. The forest slowly started to thin out, with trees becoming more and more apart. It made seeing before her a much simpler task.

In fact, Robin soon came face to face with old and eroded walls. Moss was growing on the cracked cobble of an abandoned fort. It's seen better days. Robin was familiar with the building though, cooping up with Chrom during her first iteration. They funneled risen in, allowing for the shepherds to deal with the creatures in controlled numbers.

The tactician's chance to reminsicate was quickly cut off as she heard some chatter coming from near the entrance. She rounded the corner and spotted her friends talking with the masked individual known as 'Marth'.

After delivering her rather ominous warning, she quickly turned on her heels and started to march away. Coincidentally, that meant she was walking towards the tactician. If Lucina was startled to see Robin so soon, she didn't show it. Instead she paused and leaned in towards her ear.

"I will meet you in Ylisstol, do not worry when, I will find you," The princess whispered.

She didn't wait for a response, instead continuing forward, once again disappearing into the forest. Robin was almost impressed on how easily it seemed Lucina managed to merge with the foliage.

"Hey, Robin! He spoke to you, what he say? Was it romantic?" Lissa bombarded, gripping the tactician's sleeves with vigor and excitement, and a red hue spreading across the bridge of her nose.

"N-nothing, he was just thanking me again," Robin lied easily, or as easily as one could when an overbearing princess was inches away from her face with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Thank you? It did seem like he knew you…" Lissa mumbled, finally releasing her captive from her clutches.

"We should focus on the task at hand," Frederick said suddenly, garnering the group's attention, "Robin, where have you been?" He asked icly.

"Frederick, not every action is done so with ulterior motive," Chrom explained slightly exasperated.

"Perhaps, but we should not ignore the fact she left when those creatures came,"

"By that very logic, Chrom and Lissa would be equally as suspicious," Raven piped up, silencing the group into a stunned stupor.

"You dar-"

"No, he's correct, we shouldn't make pointless accusations," Chrom interrupted.

Frederick looked from the two white haired individuals to his lord. The prince held a neutral expression, but it was clear he wasn't going to budge on the matter. The great knight sighed but bowed slightly the prince.

"As you say milord,"

"Anyways, to answer Frederick's question, I was talking a late night walk after waking up," Robin explained, "couldn't go back to bed, so I wanted to clear my mind. The ground started to rip open, and fire started to consume the forest, I eventually found weird humanoid monsters attacking Marth, I gave he-him a hand," Robin finished.

"You fought the creatures too then? So they appeared in other locations as well," Chrom mused, shifting his gaze to the ground in thought.

"Yes… Anyways, want to clue me in on what I missed, there's some… new faces," Robin finished lamely, gesturing her hand towards the people in question.

The first, was a woman adorned in red themed armour. Her eyes and hair matched the same theme. She was physically fit, with her bare arms toned and lithe. The knight had an angular face, and sharp eyes. Despite that, she couldn't appear any more disinterested, she waved lazily as Robin glanced over her.

"Name's Sully," She greeted.

The tactician nodded her head, "I see, my na-"

"My, where have my manners gone, I am Virion, archest of archers at your fine service madam," a fancily dressed man said, animating to life the moment he got a good look at the newcomer.

He quickly fell to a knee and snatched Robin's hand before she could protest. He gently kissed the back of her hand before raising to his feet again. The tactician smirked, amused by his antics. It was nice to see he hasn't changed.

"As I was saying, I'm Robin, a shepherd, it's nice to meet both of you,"

"With introductions out of the way, I recommend we make haste to the capital," Frederick said, speaking up again.

The group's general consensus was in agreement with Frederick's suggestion. They collected their things, and in Robin's instance, their companion before travelling down the trail. With any luck, they'd be in Ylisstol in a day's time. Robin couldn't help but think back on what Lucina said. Meet her there? This too, was a deviation Robin was unfamiliar with, it left an anxious feeling swimming through her person.

 **You all realize you're marching again after like 3 or 4 hours of rest right?**

Robin quirked her head to the side. Derek finally spoke up again. She was wondering when he would. In all actuality, she figured it'd be a tough to force someone to remain quiet for hours with the only person they could communicate with.

 _So?_

 **So… how? You all should be beyond fatigued at this point?**

 _Adrenaline can let people do wonderous things._

 **Areadaline? Great, when that wears off, I won't be able to tell you from the risen.**

* * *

I've known Robin personally for a day now. She's almost nothing like I thought her to be. Granted, when it came to wondering how characters from a video game might act in real life, I never really delved into it much more than a simple thought experiment.

This Robin was prideful. She held confidence in spades and apparently wasn't all that meek. She handled Virion's advances almost subconsciously. Granted, I really hope she'd just stop him from doing anything at all really.

I felt everything she felt, including his lips on her hand. That particular memory gave me shivers. Shifting gears, Robin was also a rather charismatic person. Despite how she seemingly acted with me, she's pretty amicable. Sure, she has a few screws loose, but otherwise she's a perfectly reasonable person.

At least, I'd like to say that. But it seems some of Chrom's stubbornness rubbed off of her because she continued to insist she could walk when her body heavily protested against it. I would know, I felt the burn her legs were going through.

 **Robin for the last time, just take the horse, you're barely standing.**

 _S-shut it. I'm… I'm perfectly fine._

 **You're stuttering inside your own head! That has to mean something!**

"Robin take the damn horse, you're killing me here," Sully said exasperatedly shoving the reins into her hands.

Robin blinked blearily at the cavalier. She was walking alongside her, the horse vacant of a passenger. A spike of expectation swam through her body. I felt her bite down on her own tongue though, snapping thoughts straight from her mind.

"N-no, it's quite alright. I'm fine,"

"Robin? You should take the offer, we've decided rotating between people would effectively reduce fatigue throughout the march," Raven said walking up towards the two girls.

"I mean… No, It's better if someone else took it, I'm perfectly fine,"

"Why the hell are you so against it? Got something against my horse!?" Sully demanded, fed up with the ordeal.

"S-Sully please calm down, I'm sure she's just trying to be thoughtful!" Raven tried to placate the roaring cavalier.

 **Why are you so stubborn anyways?**

"Calm down!? I'm perfectly calm!" Sully shouted in a tone that definitely wasn't calm.

"R-right, just don't hurt me…"

"My fair lady, it pains me to see you in such a withered state, A flower like yourself should always remain in the peak of your blossom. I implore you to take the horse," Virion chimed in, slowing down to match the trio's pace.

"Not you too,"

"Sir Raven, could you not convince your dearest sister to reconsider?"

"I've tried, she said she's fine," Raven said, shrugging as a result.

 **Seriously, what are you even trying to prove here? That you have a martyr complex?**

 _I won't lose…_

 **Lose what!?**

 _You said I'd look like a risen after the adreadline wore off, I won't succumb to the fatigue._

 **For the record, I can't even see your face. But, I can assure you the others think you're one gust of wind away from falling into a state similar to my body's.**

 _You raise a good point._

 **You can sleep on command right? Just strap yourself to the horse and take a nap.**

She thought over my idea, the more she did so, the more she wanted it. A feeling of desire swept through her as she eyed the saddle.

"Okay… I guess you guys talked me into it,"

 **Finally!**

" _Tres bien_ "

"About damn timing,"

"I'm glad to hear that,"

With new found confidence, Robin all too eagerly started to make her way towards the horse. The group dispersed around her, with the exception of Sully who decided to remain near her mount.

In that moment, a sense of dread swept through me as Robin's eyes feel upon an advancing Frederick. His face was expressionless, falling into a no-nonsense manner.

"Sully, I require you to send forth a message to the Exalt," The great knight ordered, taking an envelope from his armour.

"Really? I mean, we're only an hour walk away,"

"That may be, but this new found 'enemy' must be swiftly dealt with, the sooner the information is received, the better,"

"Alright, if you say so," Sully said, shrugging.

The cavailier turned to face Robin with a slight apologetic look and snatched the reins out of her hands. The tactician as a result nearly toppled over, but regained her balance fast enough to play it off. As some sort of dramatic pose. No one bought it, with Sully snickering and Frederick covering his face in exasperation.

"Sorry, duty calls, should have taken the offer sooner," Sully said slyly, mounting the horse with simple ease and raced off down the trail.

The further she left, the emptier Robin's chest felt. She it seemed she really wanted to rest despite what she said. Frederick smiled sweetly at her. Given his stature, and the fact said smile didn't reach his eyes, I'd say it was an entirely terrifying experience. The great knight turned and continued his march in a hasten pace, in attempt to catch up to his lieges. Chrom walked beside his horse, who had both Lissa and my body strapped on top of it.

It was reassuring to see my body in perfectly healthy condition. Robin claimed she knew I'd be fine all along which sent warning bells in my head because I didn't voice my concern. As it turned out, she wasn't particularly sure if I'd make it. Now that, that wasn't reassuring in the slightest. I'd have to talk to her about her generally callous approach to my life, and others, if last night events were anything to go by. Granted, now didn't seem like a good time, Robin was barely conscious as is.

"Robin? What was that about?" Raven said, appearing at his sister's side.

"Sully's got to deliver a message,"

"To whom?"

"The Exalt, to deal with the ri- the creatures we fought last night," Robin explained.

"I see… hey, can I ask you a few questions?" Raven probed after a moments pause.

"Certainly, what kind of sister would I be otherwise?"

"R-right… Anyways, you already know that I lack memories, I was wondering if you could help me fill in the gaps?"

"Aah… hehe… well, It depends on what you want to know," Robin said, masking her nervousness with a laugh.

 **You have no idea what to tell him, do you?**

 _Of course not! If he asks about his childhood then I wouldn't really know! I don't even remember my childhood!_

"My childhood for starters, the name 'Robin' was the only thing I remembered when I woke up, Why did I remember my sister's name, and not my own?

 **Yeah Robin, why is that?**

 _Give it a rest already. I stand by my decision._

 **Except you caused some continuity errors you can't even clean up!**

"I can't really answer as to why you remembered that. But in regards to our childhood, we're Plegian, " Robin answered with a shrug.

Raven's face fell at the news.

"However, I left Plegia a few years back due to its political climate and travelled across the world. I don't consider that nation my home,"

"So… you're saying I shouldn't either?"

"Our mother raised us, she taught us tactics and magic, our father… well, he was another reason as to why I left, I'd imagine you did the same before… well you know, forgetting,"

"Our mother? Do yo-"

"No… I don't remember much about her, some of my memories are absent too," Robin said delicately.

"I see… I'm sorry, I didn't realize you may have some of the same problems as I," Raven finished lamely.

"Nonsense, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help," the white haired girl said, waving off his apology.

Overall, he didn't seem to take the news very well. His only source to his past happened to be someone who lacks the information to help him. Yeah, a sense of helplessness would make sense, if not expected.

"Robin?" He addressed after some time.

"Yes? Anything else?"

"Yeah, I was wondering as to why everyone thinks Marth is male?"

Wait what? Robin coughed to mask her shock. She doubled over and wheezed, her fatigue not taking kindly to the sudden movements. I felt the headache pounding, and noticed her wince as she rubbed her temples.

 **Did you think Marth was female the first time you met her?**

 _Never crossed my mind!_

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, her face rather stiff at the revelation.

"Her face has soft features, her voice isn't masculine, she has lithe arm-"

"Wow wow wow, slow down there, Why in the world did you take such a close notice to his features?"

"Well, it was the first time I saw someone wear a mask, their mysteriousness drew my attention,"

"Mysteriousness?"

"Right, but that's besides the point, I wanted to get your opinion on the matter, but it seems you believe Marth to be male as well," Raven said, developing a 'deep in thought' pose, hand on chin and brows furrowed.

"Er… well, It's a possibility Marth's female, I just agreed with the general consensus,"

"Hmm, I see. Well, thanks Robin, you've been a ton of help"

"Marth's gender means this much to you?"

"N-no, I meant about my- our childhood. With any luck we'll find those missing memories soon," Raven corrected, a kind smile on his face.

Robin mirrored the gesture and watched as he slowed down to chat with Virion a few steps behind them.

 **Well, this is an interesting development. Nothing matches what I know.**

 _You're telling me._

* * *

The capital was as huge and prosperous as Robin remembered. The cobblestone streets were tidy and clean, with stalls hugging their sides, selling all sorts of produce and items. Pedestrians walked orderly alongside the road, leaving space in the center for the occasional carriage.

The city itself had many narrow pathways bleeding out from the main ones, making navigation immensely difficult for those unfamiliar with the maze-like alleys. The buildings stood two to three storeys tall, covering the ground with shade, it went perfectly with the gentle breezes. The city was in a jovial state, with plenty of amicable chatter and festive banners and flags adorned entrances, walls and window sills.

People navigated the roads in waves, making the group remain close and compact, swarming around Frederick's horse. Raven's head was on a swivel, as he twisted and turned to any and all sights that caught his attention.

"Fascinating, I've never seen a city so big before… I think" Raven said, mumbling the last part as an afterthought.

"Heehee, Ylisstol is the best!" Lissa chirped from on top of Frederick's horse.

"Indeed, it seems the capital was spared the chaos," the great knight said.

"And the quake as well, that's reassuring to say the least," Chrom added.

Their conversation was soon interrupted when some of the other pedestrians started to shift their focus. The chatter slowly faded into quiet murmurs of reverence as a blonde angelic looking woman rode down the street. She was lightly guarded by an escort of pegasus knights. Robin instantly knew her as the Exalt.

Exalt Emmeryn was as beautiful as Robin remembered, a serene and calming smile, a placating wave that could have cleansed any anxiety and gentle caring eyes, that mesmerized any and all citizens who saw them. Her effect on her people was blatantly on display. She was truly loved by all and was easily the closest thing to peace incarnate. Robin's mind may have been foggy and fatigued, but once laying her eyes upon the Exalt, her eyes hardened with determination. A woman such as Emmeryn did not deserve a fate as cruel as the one bestowed upon her. Robin would assure she didn't have to die by assassins or as a martyr to stop war.

Robin heard some slight conversation behind her. She felt as if she had an itch at the back of her mind, as if she forgotten an important detail. She was still fatigued however and thus choose to ignore it. She had a feeling the topic at hand was in some way important but couldn't take her gaze away from the Exalt.

She stifled a yawn and watched as the Exalt slowly departed, heading back towards the palace. Robin recalled the street they were on, usually addressed as Main, it led directly from the city's entrance all the way up to the castle. Said castle was constructed on top of a hill, giving it a cascading view over almost the entirety of the city. It also acted as a beacon for its people.

Robin's reminiscing was quickly postponed as hands gripped her shoulder and turned her. Raven stared at her wide eyed, his pupils were quivering and sweat clinged to his forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me!"

Robin quirked an eyebrow, looking beyond his wavy white hair. Lissa was unsuccessfully stifling a giggle and Chrom had a wide grin on his face.

"Ah! You mean the royal siblings?"

"You did know! You betrayed me!" Raven exclaimed melodramatically.

"You… uh, never asked?" Robin said confusedly.

"How am I supposed to ask for something I didn't know about?" he responded incredulously.

Robin peeled her brother off of her, who reluctantly went back to apologizing for his conduct. The siblings laughed at his antics and told him not to worry about it. Which only further prompted him to worry about it.

 **I feel like this could have been prevented.**

 _It's kind of funny, I don't think I was that melodramatic though._

In that moment, a familiar red themed knight came racing down the road, promptly clearing it of its citizens. Her mount paused with a slight whine a few steps before the group. She dismounted easily and fell into a quick salute.

"Captain! Frederick, I've del- what's his problem?" Sully said, pointing her thumb towards the fidgety and tearful Raven.

"Raven here just found out he's in the presence of a princess," Lissa said, pumping her chest out in pride, or it would have looked that way if she didn't have a wickedly mischievous smile plastered over her face.

"He didn't know? Tough luck," The knight said as a smirk formed.

"You've delivered the letter then?" Frederick asked, steering the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"You got that right, The Exalt 'will have a meeting shortly and wishes for Prince Chrom and Commander Frederick to be present'," Sully recited in a bored tone.

"C-commander!?" Raven piped up, only to further shrink into his coat.

"Thank-you Sully, take the rest of the day to rest up," Chrom instructed.

"I can get behind that, I'll just drop this guy off at the stables first," Sully responded as she gently clapped the side of her horse's neck.

"My dearest Sully, allow me to accompany you on such a journey. A flower as marvelous as yourself should never leave my sight," Virion suddenly exclaimed, following the cavalier and her steed.

Robin watched as the archer got incredibly close to the girl's personal space and then swiftly slapped upside the head. He brushed off the incident professionally, not allowing it to deter him. Ultimately, it looked as if Sully sighed and shrugged her shoulders, which was as much invitation as Virion needed. They rounded a corner and were soon gone from sight.

Robin snickered at the display. Virion was tenacious if nothing else. Her attention was drawn back to the prince as he started to mumble to himself.

"A meeting then…" Chrom mused, he turned to face the white haired siblings, "would either of you like to meet the Exalt? My sister?"

* * *

 **Author Note: Chapter 4 Done, Whew. Anyways, I felt like I needed to address a few things here. Firstly, 1000+ views, so for that I'm grateful! I hope you all enjoy the story!**

 **Secondly, I like to focus mostly on character interaction. As such, dialogue will be a driving focus in this story. As well as trying to develop Derek into something more than just a 1 dimensional one liner dispenser.**

 **Thirdly, I actually dislike writing fight scenes, mostly because I personally believe myself to be so horribly bad at executing them. I take a huge influence from RWBY's fight choreography, or Monty Oum's choreography. Where fights are flashy, unique, vivid and frankly speaking, not something I'm confident at portraying effectively. It doesn't help that I daydream about these fight scenes first, then struggle for days on end attempting to write them down. Alas, I suppose I've derailed the intent behind this point. What I want to get at is: fight scenes are not the focus of this story, and will on occasion be placed in the back burner, as evident by this chapter.**

 **Fourthly, Review my work please. I'd like feedback. Shamelessly gonna say that here. Will be the only time I do so! Until I forget I made that promise.**

 **Finally , a very precious friend of mine passed away this Thursday. He was like a younger brother, and as such it hit me rather hard. I was close to wrapping this chapter, so decided to finish it. However, I'll more than likely need some time to properly collect myself. I hope you understand. (No, this isn't really a hiatus, because really my update schedule is far too eccentric. I mean, I waited months before updating chapter 3. So I guess that says plenty of where I stand on that). However, appreciate your loved ones, you never know when they'll be gone. At least, that's the message I want to send by all of this.**

 **Thank You! - Manny Siliezar**


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